Body mass index ≥23 is a risk factor for insulin resistance and diabetes in Japanese people: A brief report

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 7; p. e0201052
• Main Authors: Okura, Tsuyoshi, Nakamura, Risa, Fujioka, Yohei, Kawamoto-Kitao, Sonoko, Ito, Yuichi, Matsumoto, Kazuhisa, Shoji, Kyoko, Sumi, Keisuke, Matsuzawa, Kazuhiko, Izawa, Shoichiro, Ueta, Etsuko, Kato, Masahiko, Imamura, Takeshi, Taniguchi, Shin-Ichi, Yamamoto, Kazuhiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 20.07.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis; Biology and Life Sciences; Body mass; Body Mass Index; Body size; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - complications; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - metabolism; Diabetics; Diet; Endocrinology; Female; Glucose; Glucose Clamp Technique; Health aspects; Health risks; Hemoglobin; Humans; Hyperinsulinism - complications; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; Japan - epidemiology; Lipids; Male; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metabolism; Middle Aged; Obesity; Physical Sciences; Population studies; Predictions; Resistance factors; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Type 2 diabetes; University faculty; Japan
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201052

Screening for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus is recommended for Asian Americans with a body mass index ≥23. However, the optimal body mass index cut-off score for predicting the risk of diabetes mellitus in Japanese people is not well known. The aim of this study was to determine the best body mass index cut-off score for predicting insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus in the Japanese population. This study had two parts, a clinical investigation and a retrospective observational investigation. In the clinical part of the study, 58 participants (26 with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 32 non-diabetics) underwent a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp from which their glucose disposal rate was measured. For the retrospective part of the study, medical check-up data from 88,305 people in the Tottori Prefecture were analyzed for clinical evidence of diabetes mellitus. The optimal BMI cut-off scores for prediction of insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus were determined. In the clamp study, the optimal body mass index cut-off score to predict insulin resistance in non-diabetic patients was 22.7. All participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus were insulin resistant, and the optimal body mass index cut-off score for prediction of severe insulin resistance was 26.2. When the data from the type 2 diabetic and the non-diabetic participants were combined, the optimal body mass index cut-off score for prediction of insulin resistance was 23.5. Analysis of 88,305 medical check-up records yielded an optimal body mass index cut-off score for prediction of diabetes mellitus of 23.6. These results suggest that having a body mass index ≥23 is a risk factor for insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus in the Japanese population.