Correlation between serum bilirubin level and abnormal glucose metabolism in monozygotic twins

Abstract

Objective To analyze the different levels of serum bilirubin in different glucose metabolism status between monozygotic twins and to explore the new markers of abnormal glucose metabolism. Methods Fifty-five pairs of twins from January to September 2014 were registered in the cohort study, aged 18- 70 yrs. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed and glucose level was recorded 2 hours (2 hPG) after taking 75 g glucose. The individuals with diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were pooled to be abnormal glucose metabolism group (DM + IGT) while normal glucose subjects were pooled as NGT group. Serum biochemistry index was analyzed. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship of serum direct bilirubin and blood glucose in the subjects with abnormal glucose metabolism. Results (1)Enrolled nine pairs of twins were all females, aged 50-62 yrs. Nine pairs of twins whose abnormal glucose tolerance was different were analyzed in the study. Among nine pairs of twins, 4 pairs were characterized as one with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the other with normal glucose tolerance (NGT1); 5 pairs were characterized as one with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and the other with normal glucose tolerance (NGT2).(2)Compared with NGT group, DM/IGT group had higher waist-to-hip ratio (0.89±0.05 vs 0.85±0.07, t=2.38, P 0.05). Conclusion One with lower serum bilirubin level may be at higher risk of abnormal glucose metabolism in monozygotic twins. Key words: Diabetes mellitus, type 2; Impaired glucose tolerance; Bilirubin; Monozygotic twins; Female