Sex differences in African-Americans regarding sensitivity to insulin's glucoregulatory and antilipolytic actions
Sex differences in African-Americans regarding sensitivity to insulin's glucoregulatory and antilipolytic actions. A E Sumner , H Kushner , K D Sherif , T N Tulenko , B Falkner and J B Marsh Institute for Women's Health, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvan...
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Published in | Diabetes care Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 71 - 77 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Alexandria, VA
American Diabetes Association
01.01.1999
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Sex differences in African-Americans regarding sensitivity to insulin's glucoregulatory and antilipolytic actions.
A E Sumner ,
H Kushner ,
K D Sherif ,
T N Tulenko ,
B Falkner and
J B Marsh
Institute for Women's Health, Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. annes@intra.niddk.nih.gov
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine if there are sex differences in African-Americans regarding the effect
of obesity on sensitivity to insulin as a glucoregulatory and antilipolytic hormone. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data from
study participants, 127 nondiabetic African-Americans (mean age 32 +/- 4 years), included anthropometric measurements, an
oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), a 2-h euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, and a fasting triglyceride level. Sensitivity
to insulin as a glucoregulatory hormone was determined by M/FFM, where M is the mean glucose infusion rate during the second
hour of the clamp and FFM is fat-free mass. Sensitivity to insulin's antilipolytic action was assessed during the OGTT by
the percent suppression of free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations between 0 and 120 min. The higher the suppression of FFAs,
the greater the sensitivity to insulin's antilipolytic action. RESULTS: The participants were classified by BMI into three
groups: nonobese (31 men, 24 women), obese (17 men, 14 women), and severely obese (12 men, 29 women). The women had higher
percentages of body fat (P < 0.001), and the men had greater FFM (P < 0.001). The M/FFM values for men versus women in each
BMI group were nonobese, 8.8 +/- 2.8 vs. 10.8 +/- 4.4; obese, 7.2 +/- 3.4 vs. 8.5 +/- 3.4; and severely obese, 4.7 +/- 2.1
vs. 6.1 +/- 2.2. The difference between the BMI groups was significant (P < 0.001), as was the difference between men and
women (P < 0.01). In addition, there was a significant sex difference in percent suppression of FFAS (P < 0.001). The men
and women had similar fasting insulin and FFA concentrations; however, in the men only, the percent suppression of FFA declined
with increasing obesity (nonobese, 83 +/- 15%; obese, 73 +/- 18%; and severely obese, 69 +/- 19%; P = 0.02). The women in
all three BMI groups had lower FFA levels of 86-88%. CONCLUSIONS: Obese African-American men and women are resistant to insulin
as a glucoregulatory hormone, but only obese men are resistant to insulin's antilipolytic action; obese African-American women
are sensitive to insulin's antilipolytic action. The combined presence of sensitivity to insulin's antilipolytic action with
resistance to insulin's glucoregulatory action in obese African-American women may contribute to their high prevalence of
obesity and type 2 diabetes. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 14 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0149-5992 1935-5548 |
DOI: | 10.2337/diacare.22.1.71 |