Abstract
Background: Plasma insulin levels among type 2 diabetic patients are modulated by racial and ethnic factors. In contrast tothe plethora of reported studies on plasma insulin levels among type 2 diabetic patients in technically advanced regions of theworld, there is paucity of such information in Africa in general. Objective: To study insulin output among type 2 diabeticNigerians. Subjects and methods: Forty type-2 diabetic and 36 healthy subjects underwent a standard oral glucose tolerancetest (OGTT). Fasting and post OGTT plasma insulin levels were measured using an ELISA technique. Integrated insulinresponses were calculated using trapezoidal estimation to compute total insulin output. Student’s t test was used to comparemeans; the level of statistical significance in each case was taken as p < 0.05. Results: The age and sex distribution ofdiabetic patients and control subjects were similar (p >0.5). Average duration of diabetes was 5.6 ± 4.3 years (range 1 -20years) Total insulin output was significantly lower among type 2 diabetic patients than in control subjects (360 ± 82.1 microunitsper ml and 745.1 ± 109.0 micro-units per ml respectively P<0.00 1). Conclusion: Type-2 diabetic patients in this studyexhibit hypoinsulinaemia; this could be the explanation for the pattern of diabetic complications among type 2 diabeticNigerians observed in previous studies.
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