Prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance in ischemic Egyptian patients

Background and aim: Prediabetes (impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose) is usually associated with a higher health risk profile for cardiovascular diseases. To our knowledge, no data about its prevalence in Egyptian patients are available. We aimed to determine the prevalence of prediabetes among Egyptian patients who were known to be neither diabetic nor prediabetic & referred to undergo coronary angiography.Methods and results: The study included 1000 consecutive Egyptians in the Cairo governorate with no previous diagnosis of diabetes nor prediabetes, who underwent coronary angiography for suspected coronary artery disease. They were screened for having prediabetes with either impaired fasting glucose through checking their fasting blood sugar or impaired glucose tolerance through checking their 2 h postprandial blood sugar.Twenty-three percent of patients had prediabetes; either isolated impaired fasting glucose, isolated impaired glucose tolerance or both combined together. The mean age of all patients was 52.35 ± 7.02 years. 26.33% of female patients were prediabetic while 21.43% of male patients were prediabetic. Hypertensive prediabetic patients numbered 110 and most of them were females. Body Mass Index among prediabetic patients was higher than that among patients with normal glucose tolerance and in females more than males. Prediabetes was more prevalent among patients with acute coronary syndrome than among patients with chronic ischemic heart disease.Conclusion: Prediabetes is prevalent among ischemic Egyptian patients at a considerable ratio and should be screened for