Insulin resistance & secretion in subjects with normal fasting plasma glucose

Background & objectives: Lowering the diagnostic threshold of normal fasting plasma glucose (FPG) from 6.1 to 5.56 mmol/l has been proposed by American Diabetes Association. As early detection of subjects with risk of diabetes is important, it is crucial to understand the relationship between different levels of FPG, insulin resistance (IR) and insulin secretion. We measured IR and insulin secretion in subjects with different levels of FPG to investigate the relationship between FPG and IR and insulin secretion, and to see whether lowering the cut-off improves the sensitivity of impaired fasting glucose to predict diabetes. Methods: Apparently healthy subjects (294) were enrolled and divided into 3 groups according to their FPG levels; group 1 (