HOMA insulin sensitivity index and the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease events in the general population: the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab) study.

Description

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between insulin sensitivity, estimated by the HOMA of insulin sensitivity (HOMA-%S), and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality after adjusting for components of the metabolic syndrome and traditional risk factors. The study cohort included 8533 men and women without diagnosed diabetes and with a median follow-up of 5 years. Results revealed an inverse association between insulin sensitivity and both fatal or non-fatal CVD events, but this association was largely explained by HDL-cholesterol. Moreover, no association was reported between HOMA-%S and all-cause mortality. In addition, fasting plasma glucose appeared to be a better predictor of CVD than HOMA-%S. These results suggest that insulin resistance probably plays an indirect role in the development of CVD.