Women relatives of Hispanic patients with type 2 diabetes are more prone to exhibit metabolic disturbances.

Hyperinsulinemia and impaired insulin action are familial and predictive of Type 2 diabetes onset. Since high levels of insulin are characteristic of our general (venezuelan)hispanic population, the purpose of this investigation was to identify early metabolic defects in a group of healthy first degree relatives of Type 2 diabetic patients. We studied 46 (29 women and 17 men; ages ranging 18-66 y) first degree relatives of Type 2 diabetic patients comparing them with 22 (12 women and 10 men; ages ranging 22-60 y) subjects who had no family history of diabetes. All subjects underwent resting blood pressure and anthropometric measurements; a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test with determination of glucose and insulin and a fasting lipid profile. The relatives of Type 2 diabetic patients had higher tricipital (TC) and subscapular (SC) skinfolds, and elevated DBP in relation to the control group. The skinfolds elevation was more evident in women, while in men the elevation in DBP predominates. None of the relatives had glucose intolerance, however, the glucose-stimulated insulin response was elevated at all points in men as well as in women. No difference was observed in the HOMA values for IR and beta cell function, or in the delta I30/delta G30 ratio. The lipid profile showed a marked elevation in TG levels in men as well as in women, with low HDL-C values in men. No other lipid abnormalities were observed. Correlation analysis revealed strong association between BMI and WHR with skinfolds and several parameters of the carbohydrate metabolism in women, but not in men. IR in women was possitively associated with skinfolds, SBP and lipid parameters and beta cell function with VLDL-C. Adult relatives of Type 2 diabetic venezuelan patients from hispanic origin had, early in their lives, several parameters of the metabolic syndrome as hyperinsulinemia, obesity, dyslipidemia and high blood pressure. These alterations were more prominent in women, group in which the association among BMI, WHR and IR were statistically significant respect to SBP, DBP, basal insulin, insulin/glucose ratio, TG and HDL-C.