Correlation between Change in Serum Homocysteine Levels During Hyperinsulinemia and Insulin Sensitivity
Supamai Soonthornpun MD*, Worawong Setasuban MD*, Atchara Thamprasit BN*
Affiliation : * Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand
Objective : To study the correlation between the changes in homocysteine (Hcy) levels during hyperinsulinemia
and insulin sensitivity.
Materials and Methods : Forty-five subjects who underwent hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp were studied.
Twenty-five subjects had normal glucose tolerance, seven had impaired glucose tolerance, and 13 had type 2
diabetes mellitus. Serum Hcy was measured before (Hcy 0) and at 120 minutes (Hcy 120) of glucose clamp. The
change in Hcy levels during hyperinsulinemia was expressed as absolute difference between Hcy 0 and Hcy
120 (ΔHcy) and percentage difference over Hcy 0 (%ΔHcy). Insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was used to correlate
with variables of interest.
Results : The ISI was not correlated with Hcy 0 and Hcy 120 but was correlated with ΔHcy and %ΔHcy. The
ΔHcy and %ΔHcy were not significantly different between subjects with normal and abnormal glucose tolerance,
whereas they were significantly different between subjects whose ISI were above and below the mean value.
Conclusion : Although the change in Hcy levels during hyperinsulinemia was correlated with insulin sensitivity,
the Hcy levels per se were not found to be correlated with insulin sensitivity. The change in Hcy levels during
hyperinsulinemia was significantly different in subjects whose ISI was above and below the mean value but not
in subjects with normal and abnormal glucose tolerance. This indicated that insulin resistance, not the
glucose tolerance status, affected Hcy metabolism.
Keywords : Homocysteine, Hyperinsulinemia, Insulin sensitivity
