OBJECTIVE -We sought to compare the relationship between body composition, insulin resistance, and inflammatory adipokines in Aboriginal Canadian women, who are at high risk of vascular disease, with white women.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -A subgroup of the First Nations Bone HealthStudy population, consisting of 131 Aboriginal women and 132 matched white women, was utilized. Body composition was determined by whole-body dual X-ray absorptiometry, and blood analytes were measured after an overnight fast.RESULTS -After excluding individuals with diabetes, A1C, BMI, percent trunk fat, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were greater in First Nation women compared with white women, whereas adiponectin, retinol binding protein (RBP)4, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) were lower. First Nation women had more trunk fat for any given level of total fat than white women. There were no differences in resistin, leptin, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-␣, or C-reactive protein (CRP) levels between First Nation and white women. Insulin resistance correlated with leptin and inversely with adiponectin levels in both First Nation and white women. There were weak correlations between insulin resistance and TNF-␣, interleukin-6, and CRP, but these were not significant after correction for body fat. No correlation was found between RBP4 and insulin resistance. ANCOVA revealed a higher HOMA-IR adjusted for total body fat in First Nation women than in white women (P ϭ 0.015) but not HOMA-IR adjusted for trunk fat (P Ͼ 0.2).CONCLUSIONS -First Nation women are more insulin resistant than white women, and this is explained by trunk fat but not total fat. Despite the increased insulin resistance, inflammatory adipokines are not significantly increased in First Nation women compared with white women.
Diabetes Care 30:286 -291, 2007A n increased prevalence of vascular disease in insulin-resistant states such as pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome has been long recognized (1). There is considerable debate whether insulin resistance is the primary event in atherosclerosis, with consequent activation of proinflammatory signaling pathways, or, alternatively, whether low-grade inflammation and subsequent insulin resistance accounts for the association of diabetes and vascular disease (2).Aboriginal Canadian populations, which include First Nation, Metis, and Inuit individuals (3), have an increased prevalence of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease (4,5). First Nations are Aboriginal individuals signatory to treaties and/or recognized by the Canadian Federal Government as a fiduciary responsibility and represent the large majority of Aboriginal individuals living in Canada (3). While type 2 diabetes is more prevalent among Canadian men than women in the general population, the reverse is true for the First Nation population (6,7). In the First Nation population, obesity is more prevalent among men than women, but the prevalence of metabolic ...