Abstract
Objectives
An insulin resistant state is characteristic of patients with type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and metabolic syndrome. Identification of insulin resistance (IR) is most readily achievable using formulae combining plasma insulin and glucose results. In this study, we have used data from the European Biological Variation Study (EuBIVAS) to examine the biological variability (BV) of IR using the Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and the Quantitative Insulin sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI).
Methods
Ninety EuBIVAS non-diabetic subjects (52F, 38M) from five countries had fasting HOMA-IR and QUICKI calculated from plasma glucose and insulin samples collected concurrently on 10 weekly occasions. The within-subject (CVI) and between-subject (CVG) BV estimates with 95 % CIs were obtained by CV-ANOVA after analysis of trends, variance homogeneity and outlier removal.
Results
The CVI of HOMA-IR was 26.7 % (95 % CI 25.5–28.3), driven largely by variability in plasma insulin and the CVI for QUICKI was 4.1 % (95 % CI 3.9–4.3), reflecting this formula’s logarithmic transformation of glucose and insulin values. No differences in values or BV components were observed between subgroups of men or women below and above 50 years.
Conclusions
The EuBIVAS, by utilising a rigorous experimental protocol, has produced robust BV estimates for two of the most commonly used markers of insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. This has shown that HOMA-IR, in particular, is highly variable in the same individual which limits the value of single measurements.
An insulin resistant state is characteristic of patients with type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, and metabolic syndrome. Identification of insulin resistance (IR) is most readily achievable using formulae combining plasma insulin and glucose results. In this study, we have used data from the European Biological Variation Study (EuBIVAS) to examine the biological variability (BV) of IR using the Homeostasis Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and the Quantitative Insulin sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI).
Methods
Ninety EuBIVAS non-diabetic subjects (52F, 38M) from five countries had fasting HOMA-IR and QUICKI calculated from plasma glucose and insulin samples collected concurrently on 10 weekly occasions. The within-subject (CVI) and between-subject (CVG) BV estimates with 95 % CIs were obtained by CV-ANOVA after analysis of trends, variance homogeneity and outlier removal.
Results
The CVI of HOMA-IR was 26.7 % (95 % CI 25.5–28.3), driven largely by variability in plasma insulin and the CVI for QUICKI was 4.1 % (95 % CI 3.9–4.3), reflecting this formula’s logarithmic transformation of glucose and insulin values. No differences in values or BV components were observed between subgroups of men or women below and above 50 years.
Conclusions
The EuBIVAS, by utilising a rigorous experimental protocol, has produced robust BV estimates for two of the most commonly used markers of insulin resistance in non-diabetic subjects. This has shown that HOMA-IR, in particular, is highly variable in the same individual which limits the value of single measurements.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 110-117 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 12 Jul 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 12 Jul 2024 |
Keywords
- insulin resistance
- QUICKI index
- HOMA
- analytical performance specifications
- biological variation
- reference change values
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Biochemistry
- Biochemistry, medical
