Diabetes Care, Vol 23, Issue 6 801-806, Copyright © 2000 by American Diabetes Association
Effect of menopausal status on insulin-stimulated glucose disposal: comparison of middle-aged premenopausal and early postmenopausal women
MJ Toth, CK Sites, GH Eltabbakh and ET Poehlman
Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Metabolic Research, University of Vermont, Burlington 05405, USA.
OBJECTIVE: Studies in animal models suggest that ovarian hormone deficiency
is associated with the development of insulin resistance. In women, ovarian
hormone levels are dramatically reduced after the menopause transition.
However, the effect of the menopause transition on insulin sensitivity is
unclear. Thus, we examined the effect of menopausal status on insulin
sensitivity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Insulin-stimulated glucose
disposal was measured in 43 middle-aged premenopausal women (47 +/- 3 years
of age) during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and 40 early
postmenopausal women (51 +/- 4 years; time since menopause, 21 +/- 13
months) using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique. Body
composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and abdominal
fat distribution by computed tomography RESULTS: No difference in fat-free
mass (FFM) was found between groups. Total body (P < 0.01), subcutaneous
abdominal (P < 0.05), and intra-abdominal (P < 0.01) adiposity were
greater in postmenopausal women compared with premenopausal women. No
differences in insulin-stimulated glucose disposal were found between
premenopausal and postmenopausal women on an absolute basis (pre, 436 +/-
130 vs. post, 446 +/- 120 mg/min), when expressed relative to FFM (pre,
10.7 +/- 3.0 vs. post, 11.5 +/- 3.6 mg x kg(-1) FFM x min(-1)) or when
statistically adjusted for FFM (pre, 436 +/- 125 vs. post, 445 +/- 126
mg/min). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that menopausal status does not
affect insulin sensitivity, as measured by the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic
clamp technique.