Aging Per Se Does Not Influence Glucose Homeostasis
In vivo and in vitro evidence
- Pascal Imbeault, PHD1,
- Johannes B. Prins, MD, PHD2,
- Manuela Stolic, BSC2,
- Anthony W. Russell, MD2,
- Trisha O’Moore-Sullivan, MD2,
- Jean-Pierre Després, PHD3,
- Claude Bouchard, PHD4 and
- Angelo Tremblay, PHD5
- 1School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- 2Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia
- 3Québec Heart Institute, Laval Hospital Research Center, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada
- 4Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- 5Division of Kinesiology, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada
Abstract
OBJECTIVE—To assess the effect of age on glucose metabolism by examining 1) glucose metabolism in young and middle-aged subjects when total or regional adiposity is taken into account and 2) in vitro glucose transport in adipose tissue explants from young and middle-aged women paired for total and abdominal adiposity.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Study 1: body composition, subcutaneous abdominal and visceral adipose tissue areas, and fasting and oral glucose–stimulated glucose and insulin were measured in 84 young and 81 middle-aged men and in 110 young and 91 middle-aged women. Study 2: glucose uptake in subcutaneous abdominal and visceral adipose tissue explants were measured in eight young and eight middle-aged women.
RESULTS—Study 1: young and middle-aged men showed similar subcutaneous abdominal tissue area, whereas fat mass and visceral adipose tissue were greater in middle-aged than in young men (P < 0.01). Fat mass and subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue areas were greater in middle-aged as compared with young women (P < 0.01). Fasting plasma glucose and the glucose response to an oral glucose tolerance test were significantly higher in middle-aged than in young men and women (P < 0.001). Statistical control for visceral adipose tissue area eliminated the difference seen in glucose response in men and women. Study 2: glucose transport in subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue did not differ between young and middle-aged women.
CONCLUSIONS—1) Visceral obesity, more than age per se, correlates with glucose intolerance in middle-aged subjects; 2) aging does not influence in vitro adipose tissue glucose uptake.
- AUC, area under the curve
- CT, computed tomography
- DMEM, Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium
- FFM, fat-free mass
- HU, Hounsfield units
- KRH, Krebs-Ringer HEPES
- LSM, least square means
- OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test
Footnotes
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Address correspondence and reprint requests to Pascal Imbeault, School of Human Kinetics, 125, University Street (350), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5. E-mail: imbeault{at}uottawa.ca.
Received for publication 12 April 2002 and 1 October 2002.
A table elsewhere in this issue shows conventional and Système International (SI) units and conversion factors for many substances.
See accompanying editorial, p. 539.
- DIABETES CARE
