Background: There is little knowledge on association of prehypertension with insulin resistance among Mongolian people. The purpose of the present study is to explore whether there are phenomena of insulin resistance in the phase of prehypertension in the Mongolian population.
Methods: 2553 Mongolian people were included in the present analysis. Data on demographic characteristics, lifestyle risk factors, family history of hypertension and medical history were obtained, blood pressure, body weight, height and waist circumference measured, fasting blood samples collected and blood lipids, fast plasma glucose and insulin determined for all individuals.
Results: Among participants who are overweight, the means of the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were significantly higher in prehypertensives than those in normotensives. Prehypertension was significantly associated with the higher levels of HOMA-IR after multivariate adjustment. Compared with HOMA-IRs < 1.64, multivariate-adjusted ORs (95% CI) for HOMA-IRs of 1.64-2.32, 2.33-2.84, 2.85-3.76 and ≥3.76 were 1.056 (0.786-1.418), 1.565 (1.158-2.116), 1.381 (1.020-1.870) and 1.435 (1.046-1.970), respectively.
Conclusions: Prehypertension was significantly associated with insulin resistance in the Mongolian population, and this study suggest that insulin resistance may play an important role in development of hypertension.