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Racial differences in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) concentrations and insulin dynamics during oral glucose tolerance test in obese subjects

International Journal of Obesity volume 27, pages 1359–1364 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Obese African-American (AA) subjects have higher resting and stimulated insulin concentrations than obese Caucasians (C), which could not be explained by the severity of obesity or the degree of insulin sensitivity. We investigated whether differences in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), the most potent incretin that regulates insulin secretion, might explain racial differences in insulin response. Accordingly, we measured fasting and stimulated glucose, insulin, and GLP-1 levels during a 3-h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in 26 obese C (age 38±2 y, body mass index 44±1 kg/m2) and 16 obese AA (age 36±2 y, BMI 46±2 kg/m2) subjects. Corrected insulin response (CIR30), a measure of β-cell activity, whole body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI), and area under the curve (AUC) for insulin, GLP-1, and C-peptide/insulin ratio were computed from the OGTT.

Glucose levels, fasting and during the OGTT, were similar between racial groups; 32% of the C and 31% of the AA subjects had impaired glucose tolerance. With a similar WBISI, AAs had significantly higher CIR30 (2.3±0.4 vs 1.01±0.1), insulin response (IAUC: 23 974±4828 vs 14 478±1463), and lower insulin clearance (0.07±0.01 vs 0.11±0.01) than C (all, P<0.01). Obese AAs also had higher fasting GLP-1 (6.7±2.5 vs 4.5±1.1) and GLP-1AUC (1174.7±412 vs 822.4±191) than C (both, P<0.02). Our results indicate that obese AAs had higher concentrations of GLP-1 both at fasting and during the OGTT than obese C. The increased GLP-1 concentration could explain the greater insulin concentration and the increased prevalence of hyperinsulinemia-associated disorders including obesity and type 2 diabetes in AAs.

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Acknowledgements

The funding for this study was provided in part by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center General Clinical Resource Center (USPH Grant# RR000211).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    P A Velasquez-Mieyer & G A Burghen

  2. Department of Nursing, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    P A Cowan & A K Cashion

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    G E Umpierrez

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, 94143, CA, USA

    R H Lustig

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  1. P A Velasquez-Mieyer
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  2. P A Cowan
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  3. G E Umpierrez
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Correspondence to P A Velasquez-Mieyer.

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Velasquez-Mieyer, P., Cowan, P., Umpierrez, G. et al. Racial differences in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) concentrations and insulin dynamics during oral glucose tolerance test in obese subjects. Int J Obes 27, 1359–1364 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802415

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