Attached
Insulin resistance (IR) and obesity are inter-related
causes of metabolic syndrome. Early identification before the
onset o f metabolic syndrome will be useful to lead a healthy
life. The purpose o f the present study was to identify the
importance of IR before the onset o f metabolic syndrome in
apparently healthy, non-diabetics subjects. Data o f 227 apparently healthy non-diabetics (20-70 years) who reside in a suburban area in Colombo district, Sri Lanka, were recruited for
this study. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), fasting serum insulin
(FSI), weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC)
were measured and homeostatic model assessment for insulin
resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated. Body mass index
(BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio
(W H tR ) w ere calculated. D ata w ere analyzed using
Statistical Package for Social Science (ver.17). Majority were
females (61.8 %). Prevalence o f IR was 59.9 %. Mean BMI of
IR subjects was 28.3±2.7 kg m_2where 75.3 % o f obese had
IR. All anthropometric variables except height had significant
positive correlations (P<0.01) with IR. Linear regression
analysis indicated that BMI is useful in predicting IR while
logistic regression analysis showed that BMI and WC are the
13 Lohini V. Athiththan
lohinia@gmail.com
Kasuni N. W. Walatara
kasuniwalatara@yahoo.com
Usha P. K. Hettiaratchi
kumari31 @yahoo.com
Pradeep R. Perera
rasika@sjp.ac.lk
1 Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medical Sciences,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Gangodawila, Nugegoda, Sri
Lanka
best predictors of IR in males whereas it was WHtR and WC
in females. Even though study subjects were apparently
healthy and not diagnosed as diabetes, those with elevated
anthropometric parameters had higher prevalence o f IR. Best
anthropometric predictors of IR for a specific sex should be
used as an easy self-monitoring alarming sign before the onset
of metabolic syndrome.
