Study population characteristics according to sex and glucose metabolism status
| Clinical characteristics | Women | Men | ||||
| NGM | Pre-diabetes | Type 2 diabetes | NGM | Pre-diabetes | Type 2 diabetes | |
| n=1103 | n= 236 | n=315 | n=821 | n=275 | n=660 | |
| Fasting glucose (mmol/L) | 5.1 (4.8–5.4) | 5.7 (5.3–6.2) | 7.3 (6.4–8.1) | 5.3 (5.0–5.6) | 6.1 (5.7–6.4) | 7.6 (6.9–8.8) |
| 2-hour post-load glucose (mmol/L)* | 5.4 (4.6–6.2) | 8.7 (7.9–9.5) | 14.4 (11.8–17.5) | 5.4 (4.5–6.2) | 8.1 (6.4–9.2) | 14.4 (11.9–16.8) |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.5±0.3 | 5.7±0.4 | 6.8±1.0 | 5.4±0.3 | 5.7±0.4 | 7.0±1.1 |
| HbA1c (mmol/mol) | 36.1±3.7 | 38.8±4.2 | 51.0±11.2 | 36.0±3.7 | 38.8±4.7 | 52.7±11.8 |
| Fasting insulin (pmol/L)† | 50.1 (36.4–68.6) | 71.9 (46.9–106.3) | 87.5 (55.8–141.6) | 57.8 (41.7–81.0) | 72.5 (53.3–113.8) | 83.9 (49.4–130.0) |
| HOMA2-S (%)† | 90.7 (67.8–122.5) | 62.8 (42.3–95.2) | 46.2 (32.3–72.4) | 78.1 (56.1–106.8) | 59.6 (39.3–82.1) | 48.6 (32.5–75.5) |
| Newly diagnosed T2DM | NA | NA | 51 (16.2) | NA | NA | 82 (12.4) |
| Diabetes duration (years) | NA | NA | 4.0 (1.0–9.0) | NA | NA | 5.0 (2.0–12.0) |
| Demographics | ||||||
| Age (years) | 57.3±8.0 | 60.9±7.9 | 62.0±8.1 | 58.7±8.4 | 62.1±7.2 | 63.0±7.5 |
| Educational level† | ||||||
| Low | 338 (30.6) | 91 (38.6) | 180 (57.1) | 168 (20.5) | 84 (30.5) | 257 (38.9) |
| Middle | 294 (26.7) | 69 (29.2) | 77 (24.4) | 236 (28.7) | 79 (28.7) | 185 (28.0) |
| High | 451 (40.9) | 68 (28.8) | 49 (15.6) | 408 (49.7) | 107 (38.9) | 194 (29.4) |
| Postmenopausal women† | 809 (73.3) | 186 (78.8) | 265 (84.1) | NA | NA | NA |
| Hormone replacement therapy | 27 (2.4) | 3 (1.3) | 5 (1.6) | NA | NA | NA |
| History of CVD† | 128 (11.6) | 28 (11.9) | 63 (20.0) | 94 (11.4) | 42 (15.3) | 197 (29.8) |
| Glucose-lowering medication | NA | NA | 236 (74.9) | NA | NA | 529 (80.2) |
| Antihypertensive medication use | 205 (18.6) | 96 (40.7) | 220 (69.8) | 220 (26.8) | 132 (48.0) | 482 (73.0) |
| Lipid-modifying medication use | 145 (13.1) | 67 (28.4) | 228 (72.4) | 181 (22.0) | 110 (40.0) | 499 (75.6) |
| Cardiometabolic risk factors | ||||||
| BMI (kg/m2) | 25.1±3.8 | 27.5±4.7 | 30.4±5.7 | 26.2±3.2 | 28.0±3.7 | 29.6±4.6 |
| Waist circumference (cm) | 86.1±10.2 | 93.2±12.5 | 101.7±14.4 | 96.3±9.5 | 102.3±10.5 | 107.8±12.6 |
| Hip (cm) | 100.5±8.6 | 103.8±10.1 | 108.8±12.3 | 99.6±6.3 | 102.0±6.4 | 103.5±8.3 |
| Waist-to-hip ratio | 0.9±0.1 | 0.9±0.1 | 0.9±0.1 | 1.0±0.1 | 1.0±0.1 | 1.0±0.1 |
| Office SBP (mm Hg) | 126.6±16.9 | 134.2±16.6 | 139.1±17.6 | 136.1±16.2 | 140.1±16.9 | 144.0±18.1 |
| Office DBP (mm Hg) | 73.0±9.5 | 75.7±9.1 | 75.4±9.0 | 78.2±9.6 | 80.0±9.5 | 78.1±9.8 |
| Hypertension | 362 (32.8) | 134 (56.8) | 248 (78.7) | 419 (51.0) | 189 (68.7) | 563 (85.3) |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L) | 5.7±1.0 | 5.7±1.1 | 4.8±1.0 | 5.4±1.0 | 5.2±1.1 | 4.3±1.0 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 1.8±0.5 | 1.7±0.4 | 1.5±0.4 | 1.4±0.4 | 1.4±0.4 | 1.2±0.3 |
| Total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio | 3.3±1.0 | 3.7±1.2 | 3.5±1.1 | 4.0±1.3 | 4.0±1.2 | 3.8±1.1 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/l) | 3.4±0.9 | 3.4±1.0 | 2.6±0.9 | 3.4±0.9 | 3.1±1.0 | 2.3±0.9 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 1.02 (0.77–1.36) | 1.34 (1.02–1.82) | 1.54 (1.11–2.12) | 1.13 (0.85–1.57) | 1.35 (1.01–1.84) | 1.53 (1.13–2.14) |
| Markers of low-grade inflammation | ||||||
| Z-score (SD) | −0.16 (−0.50 to 0.24) | −0.26 (−0.60 to 0.19) | −0.26 (−0.48 to 0.13) | −0.2 (−0.55 to 0.27) | −0.23 (−0.58 to 0.30) | −0.23 (−0.45 to 0.09) |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L)† | 1.12 (0.56–2.34) | 2.02 (0.95–4.62) | 2.47 (1.04–5.19) | 0.99 (0.51–2.14) | 1.4 (0.76–2.84) | 1.38 (0.67–2.96) |
| Serum amyloid A (mg/L)† | 3.57 (2.39–5.63) | 4.64 (3.13–7.28) | 5.29 (3.10–8.83) | 2.32 (1.48–3.75) | 2.77 (1.96–4.94) | 3.13 (1.93–5.23) |
| Soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (µg/L)† | 328.8 (284.4-386.2) | 354.4 (301.7-418.8) | 376.2 (321.5-454.3) | 317.2 (274.8-374.7) | 341 (293.4-395.1) | 360.3 (307.9-428.9) |
| Interleukin-6 (ng/L)† | 0.46 (0.32–0.70) | 0.63 (0.42–0.90) | 0.77 (0.52–1.11) | 0.52 (0.37–0.81) | 0.68 (0.47–1.00) | 0.81 (0.57–1.23) |
| Interleukin-8 (ng/L)† | 3.79 (3.01–4.79) | 4.29 (3.36–5.33) | 4.79 (3.87–6.30) | 3.81 (3.13–4.71) | 4.17 (3.34–5.35) | 5.08 (4.06–6.50) |
| Tumor necrosis factor alpha (ng/L)† | 2.03 (1.76–2.35) | 2.23 (1.90–2.54) | 2.44 (2.06–2.87) | 2.14 (1.88–2.48) | 2.23 (1.93–2.62) | 2.44 (2.10–2.91) |
| Lifestyle risk factors | ||||||
| PA† (stepping min/day) | 128.1±36.9 | 123.1±36.7 | 101.2±38.3 | 129.6±43.2 | 117.1±43.3 | 100.5±41.7 |
| Smoking status† | ||||||
| Never | 432 (39.2) | 81 (34.3) | 114 (36.2) | 311 (37.9) | 68 (24.7) | 154 (23.3) |
| Former | 522 (47.3) | 120 (50.8) | 138 (43.8) | 393 (47.9) | 171 (62.2) | 385 (58.3) |
| Current | 134 (12.1) | 31 (13.1) | 49 (15.6) | 111 (13.5) | 33 (12.0) | 102 (15.5) |
| Alcohol use† | ||||||
| None | 191 (17.3) | 55 (23.3) | 150 (47.6) | 69 (8.4) | 24 (8.7) | 135 (20.5) |
| Low (women:≤7;men: ≤14) | 563 (51.0) | 103 (43.6) | 108 (34.3) | 548 (66.7) | 165 (60.0) | 367 (55.6) |
| High (women>7;men>14) | 330 (29.9) | 73 (30.9) | 44 (14.0) | 197 (24.0) | 83 (30.2) | 138 (20.9) |
| Greek Mediterranean diet score† | ||||||
| Low (0–3) | 283 (25.7) | 64 (27.1) | 64 (27.1) | 64 (27.1) | 64 (27.1) | 64 (27.1) |
| Middle (4–5) | 455 (41.3) | 109 (46.2) | 109 (46.2) | 109 (46.2) | 109 (46.2) | 109 (46.2) |
| High (6–9) | 316 (28.6) | 50 (21.2) | 50 (21.2) | 50 (21.2) | 50 (21.2) | 50 (21.2) |
Data are expressed as mean ± standard deviation, median (IQR), or n (%) as appropriate
*Missing data in 25% of individuals with T2DM per protocol,
†>1% missing data.
BMI, body mass index; CVD, cardiovascular disease; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; HDL, high-density lipoprotein; HOMA2-S, homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity; LDL, low-density lipoprotein; NA, not applicable; NGM, normal glucose metabolism; PA, physical activity; SBP, systolic blood pressure; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus.