The Association of Hyperinsulinemia with Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Lee, Kang Sook; Song, Bok Rye

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Hypertension, obesity, non-insulin dependent diabetes(NIDDM), and dyslipidemia are common metaolic disorders that afflict the majority of the elderly who live in Westernized societies. To explore whether the hyperinsulinemia associated with other cardiovascular risk factors in Asian populations such as Koreans.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional study we evaluated the association of hyperinsulinemia with hypertension, obesity, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Subjects were 600 men and 396 women at least 20 years old who visited the prevention center at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul, between March and August 1997 for a multiphasic health examination.
RESULTS
In hyperinsulinemia group( >90 percentile of fasting blood insulin 10.01uU/ml in men and 8.54 uU/mlin women), body mass index(BMI), fasting blood sugar, and triglyceride and systolic or diastolic blood pressure were significantly higher than normal insulin goup in both of men and women. The major contributable risk factor to blood insulin concentration was BMI(14% in men, 13% in women). In person with the highest tertile of insulin concentration compared with those in the lowest tertile, age adjusted odds ratio of hypertension, obesity, and hypertriglyceride were 2.22(95% Confidence Interval: 1.38-3.63), 6.96(4.31-11.51), and 4.05(1.88-9.75) in men, and 2.05(95% CI: 1.10-3.86), 4.34(2.39-8.16) and 6.84(1.18-129.40) in women. Age adjusted odds ratio for clusterin of cardiovascular risk factors in the higest tertile of insulin compared with those in lower insulin than that level were 8.74(2.82-29.27) in men and 4.91(1.19-21.79) in women.
CONCLUSION
The hyperinsulinemia was associated with hypertension, obesity, NIDDM and hypertriglyceridemia. Further prospective studies are required to investigate the effects of intervetion to improve insulin sensitivity such as calorie restriction and exercise.