Insulin resistance is associated with 31 different diseases and, in women, is also linked to higher odds of an early death, a study of data on hundreds of thousands of people in the UK being presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain (9-13 September), has found. The conference will hear that there is compelling evidence of links between insulin resistance and conditions as diverse as Parkinson's diease, gout and sciatica. Insulin resistance, when the body's cells don't respond properly to insulin and can't easily take up glucose from blood, is a key feature of type 2 diabetes.
The causes of insulin resistance aren't fully understood but it is thought that excess weight and lack of physical activity are the main contributing factors. Insulin resistance is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, less is known about its wider impact on health.
To find out more, Ms. Jing Wu, of the Department of Endocrinology, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong Uni, Jinan, China, and colleagues analyzed data from the UK Biobank, which holds genetic, medical and lifestyle information provided by more than 500,000 people in the UK. The study involved 429,159 participants (231,033 women and 198,126 men) aged between 40 and 69 years.
Levels of blood sugar and fats, including cholesterol, were used to calculate each participant's TyG index – a measure of insulin resistance. The TyG ind.
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