Infection burden and Insulin Resistance (IR)

[Guest guest]

Right up my alley...

doesn't medical convention call IR auto-immune?

Why don't studies like this make it main stream..

Barb

Diabetes Care. 2006 May;29(5):1058-64.

Burden of infection and insulin resistance in healthy middle-aged men.

Fernandez-Real JM, -Bermejo A, Vendrell J, Ferri MJ, Recasens M,

Ricart W.

Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Nutrition, Institut

d'Investigacio Biomedica de Girona, Avinguda de Franca s/n, 17007

Girona, Spain. uden.jmfernandezreal@...

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that burden of infection could be

associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, resulting in insulin

resistance. We aimed to study the effect of exposure to four

infections on insulin sensitivity in apparently healthy middle-aged

men (n = 124). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: By inclusion criteria,

all subjects were hepatitis C virus antibody seronegative. Each study

subject's serum was tested for specific IgG class antibodies against

herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1, HSV-2, enteroviruses, and Chlamydia

pneumoniae through the use of quantitative in vitro enzyme-linked

immunosorbent assays. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated using minimal

model analysis. RESULTS: The HSV-2 titer was negatively associated

with insulin sensitivity even after controlling for BMI, age, and C-

reactive protein (CRP). The associations were stronger when

considering the infection burden. In particular, in those subjects

who were seropositive for C. pneumoniae, the relationship between the

quantitative seropositivity index (a measure of the exposure to

various pathogens) and insulin sensitivity was strengthened (r = -

0.50, P < 0.0001).

We also observed decreasing mean insulin sensitivity index with

increasing seropositivity score in subjects positive for

enteroviruses. In the latter, the relationship between insulin

sensitivity and seropositivity was especially significant (r = -0.71,

P < 0.0001). In a multivariate regression analysis, both BMI and

quantitative seropositivity index (7%) independently predicted

insulin sensitivity variance in subjects with C. pneumoniae

seropositivity. When controlling for CRP, this association was no

longer significant.

CONCLUSIONS: Pathogen burden showed the strongest association with

insulin resistance, especially with enteroviruses and C. pneumoniae

seropositivity. We hypothesize that exposure to multiple pathogens

could cause a chronic low-grade inflammation, resulting in insulin

resistance.

PMID: 16644637 [PubMed - in process]