Hyperinsulinaemia in offspring of Type 2 diabetic patients: impaired response of carbohydrate metabolism, but preserved cardiovascular response

Authors: Frontoni S.; Pellegrinotti M.; Bracaglia D.; Farrace S.; Caselli A.; Baroni A.; De Angelis C.; Menzinger G.; Gambardella S.

Source: Diabetic Medicine, Volume 17, Number 8, August 2000 , pp. 606-611(6)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

SUMMARY

To investigate the effects of endogenous insulin on haemodynamics in nine offspring of Type 2 diabetic patients (P), compared with 18 subjects without family history of diabetes (C), all with normal glucose tolerance.

All subjects underwent a 180-min oral glucose tolerance test with continuous blood pressure and ECG recording. Low-to-high frequency ratio (LF/HF), an index of the sympatho-vagal balance, was calculated by heart rate spectral analysis.

At baseline, LF/HF correlated with fasting plasma insulin (r = 0.44, P < 0.03) and with insulin/glucose ratio (r = 0.46, P < 0.03). Plasma insulin, basally similar in the two groups, was significantly increased in P (342 ± 34.2) when compared to C (177.6 ± 25.2 pmol/l), P < 0.005 from time 30 min onward. Blood glucose, also similar at baseline, remained not significantly different in P (5.74 ± 0.25) vs. C (5.08 ± 0.27 mmol/l), throughout the study. Diastolic blood pressure significantly decreased in P, but not in C during the first hour of the study. Finally, LF/HF ratio significantly increased in P (2.5 ± 0.4 vs. C, 1.7 ± 0.2) during the first hour.

In conclusion, the offspring of Type 2 diabetic patients with normal glucose tolerance display an increased insulin secretion; however, they are not resistant to the haemodynamic effects of insulin, as suggested by the reduction of diastolic blood pressure. This, in turn, may determine a chronic sympathetic activation, which could be involved in the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: autonomic nervous system; blood pressure; hyperinsulinaemia; offspring; spectral analysis

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2000-08-01

• In this: publication
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• In this Subject: Internal Medicine
• By this author: Frontoni S. ;  Pellegrinotti M. ;  Bracaglia D. ;  Farrace S. ;  Caselli A. ;  Baroni A. ;  De Angelis C. ;  Menzinger G. ;  Gambardella S.

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