Distribution of blood glucose in a national sample of Malaysian adults.

We describe the distribution of capillary blood glucose (BG) by age, sex and ethnicity in Malaysian adults. A national sample of 20,041 individuals aged 30 or older had usable data. They were selected by stratified 2-stage cluster sampling. BG was measured using reflectance photometer. Percentile tables and curves by age, sex and ethnicity are presented. The BG distribution was right skewed and showed the expected increase with age. Except in Indian, women had higher BG than men. There were also marked ethnic differences. Indian had the highest BG concentration, followed by Chinese, Malay and other indigenous ethnic group.