Hematocrit and hemoglobin are independently related to insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia in healthy, non-obese men and women.

In this study, we evaluated the relationship between resistance to insulin-mediated glucose disposal and hematocrit (Hct) and hemoglobin (Hgb) concentrations in 150 normal, healthy volunteers: 100 men and 50 women. Insulin resistance was defined as the steady-state plasma glucose (SSPG) concentration at the end of a 180-minute infusion of somatostatin, insulin, and glucose. Since the steady-state plasma insulin (SSPI) concentrations are similar in all individuals, the SSPG concentrations provide a direct measure of insulin resistance: the higher the SSPG, the more insulin-resistant the subject. The results indicated that SSPG was significantly (P < .001) related to Hct and Hgb in both men and women, with correlation coefficients (r) ranging from 0.38 to 0.43. A series of other variables were also related to Hct and Hgb, including blood pressure, plasma glucose and insulin responses to oral glucose, and plasma triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentrations. When multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate these relationships, the only variables that were consistently found to be associated with Hct and Hgb were insulin resistance and plasma insulin response to oral glucose. Thus, these results suggest that Hct and Hgb concentrations be added to the cluster of variables related to insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia.