Oral contraceptive use: prospective follow-up of women with suspected glucose intolerance.

593 women from a cohort of 8,652 healthy women failed a 1-hr glucose screening test. These 593 women with suspected glucose intolerance were classified as normal or as having impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or diabetes mellitus (DM) after an oral standard glucose tolerance test (SGTT) and were followed over a mean 8.55 years. No permanent change in glucose status as a result of oral contraceptive use was found in an analysis for impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus, diabetic symptoms, or use of oral agents and/or insulin. Increased glucose intolerance was observed for women who were older, had a positive family history of diabetes, or were of greater relative weight. Diabetic symptoms correlated most closely with the onset of persistent fasting hyperglycemia.