Correlations between plasma insulin and body weight in obesity,anorexia nervosa and diabetes mellitus

Summary Determinations of plasma insulin levels (IRI) were performed in 79 patients before and after a quick intravenous glucose load (0.33 g/kg body weight). The patients were divided in normals (N), underweight patients (M), obese (O), latent diabetics (D1) and overt diabetics (D2), obese latent diabetics (OD1) and obese diabetics (OD2). The body weight varied from 59 to 290 per cent of ideal body weight and the age from 14 to 75 years. We were unable to find any significant correlation between basal IRI values and body weight. We found significant correlations between IRI values obtained after glucose administration and body weight. The insulinogenic index rises with increasing body weight in all subjects, in non diabetics (N-M-O) as well as in diabetics (D1-D2-OD1-OD2). In undernutrition due to anorexia nervosa, the basal plasma IRI and the plasma IRI increase after the glucose load are normal in the studied patients. Overt diabetic patients (D2 and OD2) were significantly older than non diabetic patients having the same body weight (N-O). The insulinogenic index fell with increasing age in obese and in diabetic patients. The correlations between plasma IRI and blood sugar are discussed.This study has been performed with the support of the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale Française at the Clinique endocrinologique (Prof.F. Stephan) and the Laboratoire d'Immunologie générale (Prof. R. Minck), C.H.U. de Strasbourg F 67.