Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes

Distribution curves of insulin sensitivity as measured by the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp showing that people with type 2 diabetes sit within the range of the nondiabetic distribution, but toward the lower range. Identification of factors underlying muscle insulin resistance itself can be investigated by comparing groups drawn from the extremes of the total population distribution. Such factors may not be clearly discernible when type 2 diabetic individuals are compared with normoglycemic control subjects matched for weight and physical activity. The data are from previously published population studies of normal glucose tolerance (n = 256), impaired glucose tolerance (n = 119), and type 2 diabetes (n = 194) (20,21).