Obesity Increases Insulin Resistance Frequency and Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases in Middle-Aged Bangladeshi Population of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Middle-aged population is the key working group for the economic development of Bangladesh, overweight or obese of them frequently has type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this study, we assessed the impacts of overweight and obesity on insulin resistance frequency and the extent of cardiovascular disease risk in the middle-aged Bangladeshi population of type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 198 (102 male and 96 female) type 2 diabetic patients aged 35-55 years were enrolled irrespectively of their religion and socioeconomic status. All diabetic patients were divided into three groups based on their body mass index: (1) diabetic patients with normal-weight, (2) diabetic patients with overweight, and (3) diabetic patients with obesity. 42 non-diabetic subjects aged 32-50 years having no serious disease were recruited from different parts of Dhaka city as control. Insulin resistance was assessed by fasting serum insulin and the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The extents of cardiovascular disease risk were assessed through estimation of blood pressures and serum lipid profile. We observed that none of the diabetic patients with normal-weight had insulin resistance. In contrast, 6.8% diabetic patients with overweight and 13.7% with obesity had insulin resistance. Our results also showed that diabetic patients with obesity had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures than those of the non-diabetic subjects or of the diabetic patients with either normal-weight or overweight. The values of serum total-cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were marginally changed in the diabetic patients with overweight than those of the diabetic patients with normal-weight. In contrast, serum total-cholesterol, TG, and LDL-C levels were significantly higher while HDL-C level remained unchanged in the diabetic patients with obesity than those of the diabetic patients with normal-weight or of the non-diabetic subjects. Results suggest that obesity increases insulin resistance frequency and the risk of cardiovascular diseases in middle-aged Bangladeshi population of type 2 diabetes mellitus.