Insulin resistance quantified by the value of HOMA-IR and cardiovascular risk in patients with type 2 diabetes

Exp Ther Med. 2022 Jan;23(1):73. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10996. Epub 2021 Nov 24.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is recognized as a leading cause of death worldwide. Obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance (IR), interconnected pathological conditions constitute risk factors that are closely associated with CVD. The aim of the present study was to highlight the association of IR with cardiovascular risk (CVR). The epidemiological, cross-sectional, non-interventional study was conducted over 12 months (2019-2020) within a research grant and included a sample of 400 subjects divided into 2 subgroups: group 1 (control) subjects did not have diabetes (n=200) and group 2 had type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (n=200). The Framingham risk score (FRS) was calculated according to the 2008 general CVD risk model from the Framingham Heart Study. Subsequent to a correlation of the value of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) with the degree of CVR, the IR was higher in both groups, and CVR also increased. After being quantified by the Spearman correlation coefficient, the correlation in group 2 was higher at 0.625 compared to group 1 where this coefficient had a value of 0.440. A high FRS (FRS of 20%) was significantly associated with IR. The results therefore show that HOMA-IR is an independent risk factor for high FRS. New therapies focused on decreasing IR may contribute to decreased CVD.

Keywords: HOMA-IR; cardiovascular risk; insulin resistance; type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Grants and funding

Funding: This work was supported by the by dates obtained from the grant (research contract no. 49/09.09.2019) with the research topic: Cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with type 2 diabetes conducted by Ionela Mihaela Vladu, as project director, in collaboration with the ‘The Holy Apostles Medical Center’ and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova.