title: Distribution of fasting plasma insulin, free fatty acids, and glucose concentrations and of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in a representative sample of Quebec children and adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Plasma fasting insulin and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) are markers of IR, which, at least in part, mediates the relation of obesity to increased cardiovascular risk. Increased free fatty acids (FFAs) may be involved in the pathogenesis of IR. Our objectives were to describe the distributions of fasting plasma insulin, glucose, and FFAs and HOMA-IR in youth and to assess the relationship between FFAs and markers of IR.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fasting plasma insulin, glucose, and FFAs were measured in a representative sample of Quebec youth comprising 2244 individuals 9, 13, and 16 years of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all age and sex groups, glucose exhibited remarkably tight distributions (median CV, 7.1%) in contrast to insulin, HOMA-IR, and FFAs (median CVs, 52%, 54% and 45%, respectively). For every percentile examined, 9-year-olds had lower insulin concentrations and HOMA-IR values than 13- and 16-year-olds. We observed strong correlations between insulin concentrations and HOMA-IR values, as well as close similarity in their rankings of individuals. The mean concentrations of glucose were higher in our population than in other Caucasian pediatric populations. No positive correlations were detected between FFAs and markers of IR.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report some of the first data on the distributions of fasting plasma insulin, HOMA-IR, and FFAs from a representative sample of youth. HOMA-IR does not appear more informative than fasting insulin as a marker of IR. Our findings on higher mean glucose concentrations in this population require confirmation in other representative samples of youth to assess whether the North American distribution of glucose concentrations is shifting positively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hôpital Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal, 3175 Côte Ste-Catherine, Québec, H3T 1C5 Canada.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Allard
authors.forename: Edgard E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Delvin
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paradis
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Loughlin
authors.forename: Claudette
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lavallée
authors.forename: Emile
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lambert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D005215:Fasting; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008954:Models, Biological; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D007328:Insulin