The objective: to analyze the frequency of insulin resistance (IR) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), study of traditional and rheumatic disease-related risk factors for the development of IR, assessment of the possibility of using of Finnish Type 2 Diabetes Risk Assessment Form (FINDRISC) to detect IR. Materials and methods. 58 patients with SLE (53 women and 5 men) without diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperglycemia were included in the one-time study. The patients have received the inpatient treatment at the regional medical and diagnostic center of the communal enterprise “Poltava Regional Clinical Hospital named after M. V. Sklifosofsky PRC” in 2020-2023. The average age of patients was 38 [28; 43] years, the average duration of the disease is 4.0 [0.6; 6.0] years. 49 (85%) patients received glucocorticoids (GC), 20 (34%) – hydroxychloroquine, 26 (45%) – immunosuppressants, 2 (3%) persons received biological drugs. In all patients fasting glucose and insulin levels were determined, and the Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) index was calculated. The value of the HOMA-IR index ≥2.77 corresponded to the presence of IR. Traditional risk factors for type 2 DM and the risk of its development in the next 10 years in patients with SLE were assessed using the FINDRISC questionnaire. Results. IR was determined in 14 (24%) of 58 patients with SLE. The average value of the HOMA-IR index was 1.8 [1.3; 2,6]. The data of patients with and without IR were similar in terms of sex, age, duration and activity of SLE, therapy performed at the time of examination, frequency of traditional risk factors for type 2 DM. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and insulin concentration were higher in patients with IR. The HOMA-IR index was correlated with BMI (r=0.7; p<0.001), WC (r=0.6; p<0.001), risk categories for the development of type 2 diabetes according to FINDRISС (r=0.4; p=0.04), the SLEDAI-2K index (r=–0.3; p<0.02), the serum concentration of C3 complement (r=0.4; p=0.035) and the duration of GC therapy (r=0.4; p=0.02). Conclusions. IR was diagnosed in 24% of patients with SLE without a history of DM and with a normal fasting venous blood glucose level. The HOMA-IR index increased as SLE activity decreased and the duration of GC treatment increased. However, the development of IR was statistically significantly associated only with an increase in BMI and WC. The use of the FINDRISC questionnaire, which allows to assess the risk of developing type 2 DM in the general population, did not help to detect IR in patients with SLE.
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