Waist circumference is a better predictor than body mass index of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes.

UNLABELLED Summay: BACKGROUND Insulin resistance is an important pathogenic factor in type 2 diabetes patents. An easy and efficiency measurement predicting insulin resistance; which can be done easily by type 2 patients is desired. OBJECTIVE To examine whether waist circumference is a better predictor of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes than body mass index (BMI). METHODS From a population of 1356 registered diabetic patients, 144 who met (1) aged between 30 and 75 years, (2) being Chinese, (3) having had type 2 diabetes for more than one year, and (4) having been taking gliclazide and metformin for more than 6 months were enrolled in this study. The main outcome evaluated is the associations of HOMA insulin resistance index (HOMA index); which were assessed using multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS The coefficients of multiple regression analysis with stepwise model showed that waist circumference (β = 0.35, p < 0.001) but not BMI (β = 0.01, p = 0.94), adiponectin (β = -0.25, p = 0.04) and hemoglobulin A1c% (HbA1c) (β = 0.25, p = 0.01) were the main predictors of HOMA index. CONCLUSIONS These initial findings indicate that waist circumference is a better predictor of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes than BMI.