Abstract
Background Remnant lipoproteins appear in insulin resistance syndrome and cause atherosclerosis. We investigated the relationship between insulin resistance and remnant-like particle lipoprotein cholesterol (RLPC)levels in 415 middle-aged non-diabetic men 49.6±3.8 years of age. Methods Insulin resistance was evaluated by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). We divided the subjects into quartiles according to their levels of HOMA-IR, and then divided them into two groups; an insulin resistance (IR) group (HOMA-IR 1.85) and a normal group (HOMA-IR<1.85). Finally, we examined the relationship between the levels of RLP-C and HOMA-IR. Results Correlations were found between HOMA-IR and triglyceride (TG), and HOMA-IR and RLP-C. The value of RLP-C increased as the level of HOMA-IR increased, and the values of RLP-C were higher in the IR group than in the normal group (7.7±3.4 vs.6.0±3.2 mg/dl, p <0.0001). Conclusions There exists a correlation between HOMA-IR and RLP-C. The values of RLP-C in IR subjects without overt diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were as high as those of with diabetes and CAD in previous reports on Japanese patients.
