ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND FASTING BLOOD GLUCOSE IN YOUNG ADULTS

diabetes and excessive consumption or binge drinking can cause insulin resistance and diabetes. In 2010, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States and was responsible for significant health complications: blindness, kidney failure, and limb amputations, and is a large national economic burden. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) is a tool used to help diagnose diabetes. Abnormally high FBG, ≥100 mg/dl, is indicative of diabetes and pre-diabetes. Few studies have observed diabetic prevalence among young adults or college students. Studying young adults can help provide added information about early risk factors for diabetes and pre-diabetes, facilitating public health efforts to stem the rising tide of the diabetes epidemic. This study aimed to research the associations between alcohol consumption (numbers of days alcohol consumed in the past month and binge alcohol consumption in the past month) and FBG in a college population as part of the FLASH cohort study. FBG levels were measured in 141 young adult participants and alcohol consumption was determined by self report. Other individual-level characteristics and potential confounding variables were also collected. The association between alcohol consumption and FBG followed a J-shape