Insulin Sensitivity and Associated Risk Factors in Mexican Children and Adolescents
- Rodolfo Cisneros-Tapia, MD1,
- Francisco A. Navarrete, MD2,
- Ana C. Gallegos, MS2,
- Alma E. Robles-Sardin, MS2,
- Rosa O. Méndez, MS2 and
- Mauro E. Valencia, PHD2
- 1Medical Center “Dr. Ignacio Chávez,” Hermosillo, Sonora, México
- 2Research Center for Food and Development, Department of Human Nutrition, Hermosillo, Sonora, México
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Mauro E. Valencia, PhD, Department of Human Nutrition, Research Center for Food and Development, Carretera la Victoria Km 0.6, Hermosillo, Sonora, México, Apartado Postal 1735, CP 83000. E-mail: mauro{at}cascabel.ciad.mx
There is an increasing amount of data showing that being overweight during childhood and adolescence is significantly associated with insulin resistance in young adulthood. Weight loss in obese youngsters results in a decrease in insulin concentration and improvement in insulin sensitivity (1). The objective of this study was to identify the principal risk factors associated with insulin sensitivity in a group of Mexican children and adolescents with a wide range of body weight.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
One hundred male and female children and youth subjects aged between 10 and 20 years, from different socioeconomic levels, provided general information about their health status as well as blood samples for a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (2) and basal and 2-h insulin and lipid determinations (triglycerides and HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol) (3,4). Insulin sensitivity was estimated by the insulin sensitivity index (ISI)0,120 method (5,6). Acanthosis nigricans (7) and blood pressure measurements were performed by a trained physician. Anthropometrical measurements included body weight, height, BMI, and waist circumference. Body composition and fat distribution were made by body density from air-displacement plethysmography measurements (8,9) and by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for abdominal fat …
