Abstract
To search for a simple index for estimating the degree of whole-body insulin resistance, we analyzed the correlation between glucose infusion rate (GIR) during a glucose clamp study, an established measure for insulin resistance, and 7 clinical variables: body mass index (BMI), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbAic, T. Chol, HDL-C, TG and fasting plasma immunoreactive insulin (FIRI). The data were obtained from 21 patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), 69 with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and 156 NIDDM subjects who had undergone a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp study. The GIR correlated best with TG (r=-0.616, p=0.0029) in the NGT group, with FIRI (r=-0.513, p<0.0001) in the IGT group, and with FIRI (r=0.380, p<0.0001) in the NIDDM group. The correlation coefficient with GIR increased when the product of FIRI by one of the other variables was used instead of any single variable itself, However, 5 independent variables with HbAic and T. Chol excepted accounted for a minor portion of GIR (R: 51.6% in NGT, 41.2% in IGT, and 22.1% in NIDDM). In conclusion, we found no reliable alternative to estimate the degree of in vivo insulin resistance.
