relationship between positive family history and the presence of diagnosed diabetes prior to the survey. During the 1974 survey, fasting blood glucose values were obtained for 139 individuals. ues >160 mg%. Of these, 19.5% had FBS values >130 mgZ, and 13.7Z had val- These 139 people included 32 individuals with previously diag- nosed diabetes, some of whom exhibited normal fasting and 2-hr post-prandial blood sugars in this survey. With these 32 excluded, 7.5% of the remaining inAividuals showed FBS >130 mgZ, and 5.6% showed >160 mg%. In the 1974 survey, 2-hr post-prandial blood sugar was measured on 277 individuals, including only 19 previously diagnosed diabetics. The data on all 277 individuals showed 19.2% with post-prandial blood sugar values >130 mg% and 8.7% with values >160 mgZ. With the known diabetics excluded, these percentages were 15.5 and 5.4 respectively. Of the previously diagnosed diabetics, 67.72 were female, but on the basis of post-prandial blood sugar >130 mg%, no significant difference was found between the sexes with regard to carbohydrate intolerance: 24 of 129 males and 27 of 144 females had values >130 mgZ, and 10 males and 13 females had values >160 mg%. This is in contrast to the findings in other similar surveys in the Pacific, which show diabetes considerably more common in females (77). Relative weight had a significant although rather weak effect on carbohydrate tolerance. Measurements using a ponderal index (wt/ht2) showed the correlation between relative weight and fasting blood sugar to be r = 0.33 (p = 0.001) and that with post-prandial blood sugar to be r = 0.31 (p = 0.001). Also examined was the relationship within the female population between number of pregnancies and previous diagnosis of diabetes or carbohydrate intolerance indicated by either the fasting or the post-prandial blood sugar value. First analysis of these data indicated no relationship between these variables in the Marshall Islands population, but further study is under way. The data from previous diagnoses and from the two measures of glucose tolerance can be used to define a group of individuals with altered carbohydrate tolerance. This group includes all previcusly diagnosed diabetics and all individuals with either a fasting blood glucose level >130 mg%Z or a 2-hr post-prandial blood glucose level >160 mg%. This group of affected persons comprises 17.3% of the population, and is composed of 65% fesales and 352 males. The age distribution of affected individuals in the Marshall Island nopulation, by sex, is given in Table 1. The age group-specific prevalence of carbohydrate abnormalities increases by age groups in this population, with females showing greater percentages in all groups. Affected persons comprise 13.3% of all males examined and 20.7% of all females. Table 1. Age distribution of carbohydrate abnormalities (defined in text) in the Marshall Island population (numbezs in parentheses are sample sizes). Age group: Male Female 0-24 25-34 5-44 0 (57) 7.5 (53) 6.1 (33) 7.7 (52 10.0 (20) 17.2 (29) 45-54 % Affected 29.2 (24) 37.5 (49) - 44 + 55-64 >65 Total 27.3 (33) 45.8 (24) 28.6 (14) 33.3 (15) 13.3 (181) 20.7 (213)