New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) A study has found that insulin resistance can lead to 31 different diseases, which puts women at a higher risk of early death.
Insulin resistance is not fully understood, but it is believed to be caused by being overweight and lack of physical activity.
To gain information on this, Jing Wu of the Department of Endocrinology at Shandong Provincial Hospital in China and his colleagues analyzed data from the UK Biobank, which contains genetic, medical and lifestyle information provided by more than 500,000 people in the UK.
Each participant’s blood sugar and fat (including cholesterol) levels were used to calculate their TYG index, which measures how much insulin resistance the body has.
TYG index scores ranged from 5.87 to 12.46 units, with a mean score of 8.71 units.
The study, published in the journal Diabetologia, found that participants who had higher TYG scores and therefore higher levels of insulin resistance at the start of the study were typically male, older, less active, smokers and obese.
Researchers who tracked participants’ health for 13 years linked insulin resistance to 31 diseases.
Insulin resistance has been found to be associated with an increased risk of developing 26 diseases, including sleep disorders, bacterial infections, and pancreatitis.
In women, every one unit increase in insulin resistance was associated with an 11 percent higher risk of dying during the study period.
This showed that insulin resistance was associated with all-cause mortality in women. No association was found for men.
According to research, insulin resistance increases the risk of sleep problems by 18 percent, risk of bacterial infection by eight percent and risk of pancreatitis by 31 percent.
“We have shown that by assessing the degree of insulin resistance, it is possible to identify individuals who are at risk for obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis, sciatica and some other diseases,” Wu said.
–IANS
MKS/AKJ
