Abstract

Insulin resistance (IR) was studied in male and female coronary patients compared with sex and age matched control subjects. IR was determined by the method described by Bonora. Both study populations were similar in body mass index, presence of diabetes mellitus (DM), altered lipid profile, and the presence of hypertension. A regression model showed that coronary individuals had a higher conjumption of cigarettes (p = 0.001) and a higher IR (p = 0.02) as independent variables. Subjects with type 2 DM had higher IR in comparison with those without DM. Glucose clearance indice. showed an inverse correlation with serum triglyceride levels (p = 0.02) and the waist/hip ratio (p = 0.012), and a direct correlation with glucose dissappearance constant with the serum HDL-cholesterol level (p = 0.02). No correlation was found between IR and body mass index. Subjects with 3 or 4 components of the IR syndrome showed a non significant trend to have higher IR. Our study suggests that IR is an independent risk factor of coronary heart disease, but do not support the existence of an IR syndrome wich appears only when all attributes are present. However, we can not rule out an interaction between the presence of IR and genetic defects, to explain the diverse clinical features.