Fasting blood sugar variability in young adults tied to CAC risk later: Study

Guangzhou, China: Higher variability in fasting blood sugar in young adults may lead to greater coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression during middle age, finds a recent study in the journal Diabetes Care. This suggests its (fasting glucose variability) value in predicting risk for subclinical coronary artery diseases.

Glycemic variability (GV), which refers to swings in blood sugar levels, has a broader meaning because it alludes to blood sugar oscillations that occur throughout the day, including hypoglycemic periods and postprandial increases, as well as blood sugar fluctuations that occur at the same time on different days., 

Weijing Feng, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China, and colleagues had investigated intraindividual variability of fasting blood sugar during young adulthood is associated with CAC progression in middle age.

The researchers included 2,256 participants from CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development Study in Young Adults). CAC was assessed by computed tomography scanner at baseline (2000–2001) and 10 years later (2010–2011). Progression of CAC was assessed for each participant as the difference of logarithmic CAC scores at follow-up and baseline (log [CAC (follow-up) + 1] − log [CAC (baseline) + 1])