The oral glucose tolerance test: A study of the influence of age on the response to the standard oral 50 g glucose load

160 women and 133 men over 50 were chosen for the experiment. They were divided into three age groups. In order to study a group of subjects who were normal for their age, caution was taken to discard known overt diabetics and to avoid any interfering factor that might influence glucose tolerance. The results are expressed by the median and the 5th and 95th percentiles. The median increases progressively with age. There is a highly significant difference between subjects over and under 65, but none between sexes. The 5th percentile varies very little whereas the 95th percentile shows a large increase. This is more evident in women than in men. This would indicate an increased prevalence of diabetes with age rather than a general reduction of glucose tolerance. The therapeutic problems are discussed. © 1970 Springer-Verlag.SCOPUS: ar.j