The Isle of Ely Diabetes Project is a prospective population-based study of the aetiology and pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Between 1990 and 1992, 1156 subjects aged between 40 and 65 years underwent a standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). A total of 1122 individuals who were not known to have diabetes completed the test and were classified according to WHO criteria; 51 subjects (4.5%) had previously undiagnosed diabetes and 188 (16.7%) had impaired glucose tolerance. The subjects with newly diagnosed glucose intolerance were significantly older, more obese, and shorter than those with normal glucose tolerance. Blood pressure, cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were elevated and HDL-cholesterol levels were lower among those with abnormal rather than normal glucose tolerance. In multiple regression analyses stratified by gender and including age, body mass index, and the waist-hip ratio as covariates, there were significant differences between those with normal and abnormal glucose intolerance in blood pressure, triglyceride, and HDL-cholesterol, but not total or LDL-cholesterol. In both male and female subjects, height had a significant independent negative association with the plasma glucose at 120 min after administration of oral glucose (standardized beta coefficient = -0.12, p < 0.01).

In a prospective study concerning the pathogenesis of impaired glucose tolerance and Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus, 346 subjects with no clinical history of diabetes were given a standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. The expected positive associations between 120-min plasma glucose concentration and age and body mass index were observed in both sexes and between 120-min plasma glucose and waist/hip ratio in male subjects. An unexpected negative correlation was found between 120-min plasma glucose and height in both sexes (r = -0.23, (95% confidence interval, -0.38 - -0.07) p less than 0.007 for male subjects and r = -0.24, (-0.37 - -0.11) p less than 0.006 for female subjects). These negative associations with height remained significant after controlling for age and body mass index in male subjects but not in female subjects. In the latter a highly significant negative relationship of height with age was recorded (r = -0.33, (-0.45 - -0.20) p less than 0.0001). Comparison between individuals with impaired glucose tolerance and control subjects matched for sex, age and body mass index showed that subjects with impaired glucose tolerance are significantly shorter. Mean (+/- SEM) height in the male subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (n = 29) was 173.4 +/- 1.1 cm vs 176.9 +/- 1.3 cm in control subjects, p = 0.02. In the female subjects (n = 39) mean (+/- SEM) height was 159.4 +/- 1.0 cm vs 162.4 +/- 1.0 cm in control subjects, p = 0.02. The negative relationship between height and glucose tolerance is a new epidemiological observation which has not been previously reported.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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This paper assesses the determinants of National Vocational Qualification/ Scottish Vocational Qualification (NVQ/SVQ) acquisition, using a probit model, and discusses the possible implications for government policy. Labour Force Survey data are used to show that the factors which positively affect the likelihood of having an NVQ or SVQ contradict the findings of earlier papers on the determinants of all work-related training. In particular, it is found that being female and non-white increase the chances of having an NVQ, and there is a negative relationship between previous formal qualifications and the likelihood of having an NVQ.

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