Contributions of Fasting and Postprandial Plasma Glucose Increments to the Overall Diurnal Hyperglycemia of Type 2 Diabetic Patients

The exact contributions of postprandial and fasting glucose increments to overall hyperglycemia remain controversial. The discrepancies between the data published previously might be caused by the interference of several factors. To test the effect of overall glycemic control itself, we analyzed the diurnal glycemic profiles of type 2 diabetic patients investigated at different levels of HbA(1c). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In 290 non-insulin- and non-acarbose-using patients with type 2 diabetes, plasma glucose (PG) concentrations were determined at fasting (8:00 A.M.) and during postprandial and postabsorptive periods (at 11:00 A.M., 2:00 P.M., and 5:00 P.M.). The areas under the curve above fasting PG concentrations (AUC(1)) and >6.1 mmol/l (AUC(2)) were calculated for further evaluation of the relative contributions of postprandial (AUC(1)/AUC(2), %) and fasting [(AUC(2) - AUC(1))/AUC(2), %] PG increments to the overall diurnal hyperglycemia. The data were compared over quintiles of HbA(1c).

The relative contribution of postprandial glucose decreased progressively from the lowest (69.7%) to the highest quintile of HbA(1c) (30.5%, P