J Korean Soc Endocrinol.  1994 Dec;9(4):366-374.

Insulin Resistance, Body Fat Distribution, and Sex Hormones in Healthy Men and Premenopausal Women

• Kim SY
• Park KS
• Cho BY
• Lee HK
• Shin CS
• Koh CS
• Oh TG
• Kim WB

Abstract

It is well known that obesity central obesity is associated with insulin resistance and some studies reported that sex hormones were associated with insulin resistance. Recently, low levels of sex-hormone binding globulin(SHBG), an indirect index of androgenicity, have been observed to predict the development of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM) in women and SHBG has been proposed as a marker for insulin resistance. In contrast to findings in women, decreased SHBG did not predict the occurrence of NIDDM in men, so it is suggested that sex hormones may have a different role for insulin resistance between men and women. To investigate the difference of the associations among the body fat distribution, sex hormone and insulin sensitivity index in men and women, we measured body-mass index(BMI) and waist to hip circumference ratio(WHR) and concentrations serum SHBG, total testosterone, free testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate(DHEA-S) concentrations in 29 healthy adults(men:19, women:10) who showed normal glucose tolerance. Insulin sensitivity index(M/I) was measured by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp. There were no differences in age, BMI, fasting plasma glucose, insulin and free fatty acid levels between men and women. WHR of men is higher than that of women(0.82+-0.01 vs. 0.73+-0.01, p=0.002). Insulin sensitivity index(M/I) is similar in men and women(7.80+-0.71 mg/kg/min/uU/ml X 100 vs. 9.74+-0.89 mg/kg/min/uU/ml X 100, p=0.196).In Pearson's correlation, M/I was significantly correlated with BMI(r=-0.69, p<0.01) and WHR(r=-0.68, p<0.01) in men and DHEA-S(r=-0.68, p<0.05) and SHBG(r=0.61, p=0.056) concentrations in women.In multiple regression analysis, M/I had the most significant association with BMI(R^2=0.484, beta=-0.696, p<0.001) in men and DHEA-S(R^2=0.471, beta=-0.686, p<0.05) concentration in women.Conclusively, we found that sex hormones were significantly associated with insulin resistance and the effects of sex hormones on insulin resistance may be different in men and women.

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue*
Blood Glucose
Body Fat Distribution*
Body Mass Index
Dehydroepiandrosterone
Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Fasting
Female
Glucose
Gonadal Steroid Hormones*
Hip
Humans
Insulin Resistance*
Insulin*
Male
Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1
Obesity
Obesity, Abdominal
Testosterone
Dehydroepiandrosterone
Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate
Glucose
Gonadal Steroid Hormones
Insulin
Testosterone