Dietary Patterns and Glucose Tolerance Abnormalities in Chinese Adults

OBJECTIVE - To investigate the association of the dietary pattern with the presence of newly diagnosed glucose tolerance abnormalities among Chinese adults. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - A total of 20,210 adults aged 45-69 years from the 2002 China National Nutrition and Health Survey were included. Information on dietary intake was collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were used to identify the food factors and dietary pattern clusters. RESULTS - Four dietary pattern clusters were identified ("Green Water," "Yellow Earth," "Western Adopter," and "New Affluence"). The prevalence of glucose tolerance abnormalities ranged from 3.9% in the Green Water to 8.0% in the New Affluence. After adjustment for area, age, sex, current smoking, and physical activity, subjects in the Yellow Earth cluster (prevalence ratio 1.22 [95% CI 1.04-1.43]) and New Affluence cluster (2.05 [1.76-2.37]) had significantly higher prevalence rates compared with those for the Green Water cluster. After further adjustment for BMI and waist-to-height ratio, the elevated risk in the New Affluence remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS - Dietary patterns and food factors are associated with the presence of glucose tolerance abnormalities in China, even independent of obesity. A New Affluence diet is an important modifiable risk factor, which needs attention from the prevention point of view.