Reduced carbohydrate intake in the preparatory diet and the reliability of the oral glucose tolerance test
Hughes, R.O.
Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine 46(5): 725-728
1975
ISSN/ISBN: 0095-6562 PMID: 1131138 Document Number: 95988
Two USAF flying populations, each of 632 men 19 to 51 years old, were given 40 g glucose/m2 body surface area by mouth after estimation of fasting blood sugar; one of the groups ate at least 300 g carbohydrate daily during the 3 days before the test whereas the other ate only 150 g daily. In the group with the smaller intake of carbohydrate in the preparatory diet, the proportion of abnormal glucose tolerance tests decreased slightly, but not significantly from that in the first group, and there were more abnormal values and a higher mean glucose value at the 60-min point on the test curve. It is considered that the difference is not of significance and that tolerance to glucose by mouth is a reliable diagnostic test. The preparatory diet containing 150 g carbohydrate daily is now being used by the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine Consultation Service for all patients undergoing glucose tolerance tests.