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Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in normal-weight individuals

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Abstract

We performed this study to investigate the prevalences of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a Chinese population with normal weight. We also examined whether fat mass is associated with insulin resistance and MetS in normal-weight individuals. Data were drawn from a cross-sectional study in China. Subjects with diabetes were excluded. The prevalences of insulin resistance and MetS were calculated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed repeated separately for body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in both men and women. We also used the combination of BMI and WC to predict insulin resistance and MetS. 8.55 % of normal-weight men and 12.62 % of normal-weight women had insulin resistance. 7.41 % of normal-weight men and 10.24 % of normal-weight women had MetS. WC was associated with incident insulin resistance and MetS independent of BMI in both men and women. BMI was independently associated with incident MetS in women. Normal-weight individuals with insulin resistance and/or MetS are not rare in the Chinese population. Fat mass is associated with insulin resistance and MetS in normal-weight subjects. The current findings support using both BMI and WC in clinical practice.

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Abbreviations

MetS:

Metabolic syndrome

BMI:

Body mass index

WC:

Waist circumference

ATP III:

Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel

CI:

Confidence interval

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol

HOMA:

Homeostasis model assessment

OR:

Odds ratio

CRP:

C-reactive protein

eGFR:

Estimated glomerular filtration rate

Scr:

Serum creatinine

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the following science foundation: 1. EU FP7 Program, UroSense, 2011; 2. ISN Research Committee Grant, 2007; 3. ISN Research Committee Grant, 2004; 4. Guangdong Provincial Science and Technique Program (No. 2011B031800386), 2011.

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Correspondence to Hequn Zou.

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Shanying Chen and Youming Chen have contributed equally to this study.

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Chen, S., Chen, Y., Liu, X. et al. Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in normal-weight individuals. Endocrine 46, 496–504 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-013-0079-8

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