Abstract
An association between elevated serum insulin levels and hypertension or cardiovascular diseases has long been noted, implying possible effects of hyperinsulinemia on the development of atheroseclerosis. A recent epidemiological study carried out in Helsinki also foundthat hyperinsulinemia could be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. The present authors studied the serum insulin response during 50g OGTT in subjects with hypertension, arteriosclerosis and abnormal lipid metabolism, in order to elucidate these relationships.
(1) The subjects were 219 people aged 40 years or more, who were admitted for health check-ups at our institute, with no family history of diabetes, with normal glucose tolerance (ΣBG<350) and with normal liver function tests (GOT, GPT, ZTT).
(2) The insulin levels were found to be higher before and after glucose loading in the subjects with hypertension than in those without hypertension, for both the non-obese and obese groups. Since, among 6 kinds of indices for evaluating insulin response established by the authors, ΣIRI indicated a sharp increase in the hypertensive subjects, an increase in total amount of insulin secretion during OGTT was suggested.
(3) The subjects with coronary heart disease and those with decreased renal function tests revealed increased ΣIRI levels independently of the effect of hypertension. The subjects with arteriosclerotic changes in the ocular fundus and those with elevated serum cholesterol or triglyceride levels showed higher insulin levels only in the normotensive group.
