Lack of age-related increase in average glycemia in a non-Westernized sample of rural Yucatec Maya females

Age-related decline in glucose processing and the associated progressively higher circulating glucose levels are considered well-established biological aging phenomena. However, their occurrence in non-Westernized populations characterized by less mechanization and dietary processing has not been well-studied. This research extends evaluation of lifestyle conditions of diet and physical activity beyond those of Westernized areas and examines aging patterns in blood glucose among rural Yucatec Maya. The purpose is to investigate whether deteriorating glucose processing is intrinsic to human aging, while controlling for body composition in a non-Westernized setting. Data were gathered from 60 nondiabetic Maya women, 40-85 years of age, living in 16 rural villages around Merida, Yucatan. Information regarding personal history, diet, and physical activity was collected through interviews. Body composition was assessed through anthropometric and derived indicators of body size, fat distribution, body mass index, intra-abdominal fat, and total fat and fat-free masses. Glycemia was measured through microvenous samples analyzed for glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) and fructosamine, to demonstrate average circulating glucose under customary living conditions. As indicated by glycation, average glycemia is not higher in older Maya females (age group F for HbA(1c) = 0.88, P > 0.05; age group F for fructosamine = 0.38, P > 0.05). Further, correlations between age and HbA(1c) (r = -0.13, P > 0.05) and fructosamine (r = -0.10, P > 0.05) are negative and not significant. The absence of significant, positive age associations with HbA(1c) and fructosamine persists when effects of body composition are taken into account. Thus, decline in glucose regulation does not appear to be a feature of aging in this non-Westernized sample, suggesting that age-related deterioration in glucose processing is not universal among human populations. Results suggest that relationships of age with glycemia are linked to lifestyle differences.