Apparently healthy men from 30 through 69 years of age, drawn from a random sample of participants in the Tecumseh epidemiological study, were examined under standard conditions in order to determine fasting levels of serum lipid, serum insulin, and blood glucose. Each man ingested 75 gm of glucose, and blood specimens were obtained at 30-minute intervals over a two-hour period for determination of concentrations of blood glucose and serum insulin.
Mean serum triglyceride values were highest in the 40- to 49-year age group, but high values were frequent among individuals in each decade age group. Twenty-seven percent of the 202 men had serum triglyceride concentrations of 200 mg/100 ml or higher.
Chemical diabetes was detected in 7% of all participants. The prevalence increased from 2% among men 30 to 39 years to 11% among the 60- to 69-year-old men. A high proportion of diabetics had abnormal insulin responses as well as impaired glucose tolerance.