Endogenous glucose production, insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion in normal glucose-tolerant Pima Indians with low birth weight

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Individuals with low birth weight (LBW) are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in later life. Whether impairments in endogenous glucose production (EGP), insulin action, insulin secretion, or a combination thereof account for this association is unclear. We, therefore, examined these parameters in Pima Indians with normal glucose tolerance. Body composition, glucose and insulin responses during a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), EGP, insulin-stimulated glucose disposal during low- and high-dose insulin infusion (M-low and M-high, hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp), and acute insulin response (AIR) to a 25-g intravenous glucose challenge were measured in 230 Pima Indians (147 men and 83 women, aged 25 ± 0.4 years [mean ± SE; range, 18 to 44]) with normal glucose tolerance. A subgroup of 63 subjects additionally underwent biopsies of subcutaneous adipose tissue for determination of adipocyte cell size and lipolysis. Subjects in the lowest quartile of birth weight (birth weight: 2,891 ± 33 g, LBW, n = 58) were compared to those whose birth weight was in the upper 3 quartiles (birth weight: 3,657 ± 28 g, NBW, n = 172). Age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, and waist-to-thigh ratio (WTR) were similar in LBW and NBW subjects. Suppression of EGP during the clamp was less in LBW than in NBW subjects before ( P = .002) and after adjustment for age, sex, percent body fat, and M-low ( P = .02). M-low and M-high were less in LBW than in NBW subjects before ( P = .05 and P = .01) and after adjustment for age, sex, percent body fat, and WTR ( P = .04 and P = .05). AIR was not different in LBW compared to NBW subjects before adjustments ( P = .06), but it was lower in LBW than in NBW subjects after adjustment for age, sex, percent body fat, and M-low ( P = .02), suggesting that AIR did not increase appropriately for the decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (M). In addition, average adipocyte cell size ( P = .08) and basal lipolysis ( P = .02) were higher in the LBW than in the NBW group. These results show that Pima Indians with LBW manifest a variety of impairments in metabolism in adulthood. Among these, a lesser insulin-stimulated suppression of EGP and a lesser insulin secretory capacity are the predominant ones. We conclude that interaction of multiple defects may contribute to increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes among individuals with LBW.