Insulin Resistance, Intra-Abdominal Fat, Cardiovascular Risk Factors, and Androgens in Healthy Young Women with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

The increased cardiovascular risk in type I diabetes may be related, atleast in part, to insulin resistance. The aim of this study was toassess the relationships between insulin sensitivity, abdominal fat,androgens, lipids, and blood press-are in 10 premenopausal women withtype 1 diabetes (mean +/- SD, hemoglobin Ale 8.1 +/- 1.0%) and 10nondiabetic body mass index-matched controls. Insulin sensitivity(glucose infusion rate during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp) wassignificantly less in the type I diabetes group than in controls (49.3+/- 14.8 vs. 73.2 +/- 21.6 mumol/min.kg fat free mass, respectively, P =0.01). The two groups were similar with respect to lipids, androgens,energy expenditure, physical activity, blood pressure, and abdominaladiposity (intra-abdominal fat by four-slice computed tomography andcentral abdominal fat by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry). There wereno relationships between glucose infusion rate, abdominal adiposity, andandrogen levels in subjects with type 1 diabetes, in contrast tocontrols. Our results demonstrate greater insulin resistance in a groupof premenopausal women with type 1 diabetes compared with nondiabeticcontrols, unrelated to abdominal adiposity, lipids, or androgens.