Diurnal and seasonal variation in oral glucose tolerance: studies in the Antarctic

Abstract

Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed in 12 young men in the Antarctic. Tests were done in the morning and afternoon at three monthly intervals (March, June, September, December). The characteristic diurnal variation in glucose tolerance persisted throughout the year, but was greater in the warmer months (March and December). There were significant seasonal differences in glucose tolerance; blood glucose values were lowest, both morning and afternoon, in December (midsummer). In one pair of tests performed during a reversal of normal sleep/activity pattern, the direction of the normal diurnal variation of glucose tolerance was also reversed.