Influence of moderate chronic wine consumption on insulin sensitivity and other correlates of syndrome X in moderately obese women

Epidemiologic studies indicate that alcohol consumption is associated with improved insulin sensitivity; however, scant experimental evidence confirms this observation. To determine the effects of regular moderate wine consum ption on insulin sensitivity, 20 overweight women (body mass index [BMI], 2 9.8 +/- 2.2 kg/m(2)) participated in a 20-week free-living randomized cross over trial. The subjects, serving as their own controls, consumed wine (190 mt red wine, 13% vol/vol ethanol, 5 days per week) for 10 weeks and abstai ned for 10 weeks or vice versa. The dependent variables (body weight, BMO, percent body fat, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and insulin, blood lipids, dietary intake, and insulin sensitivity by intravenous glucose tole rance test [IVGTT]) were measured at the pretest, at the 10-week crossover, and at the 20-week completion of the study. Data were analyzed at the pret est and at completion of the wine drinking and abstention periods of the st udy using ANOVA by order of treatment. Fasting glucose remained unchanged ( mean +/- SD; P > .05) throughout the experiment (pretest, drinking, and abs tention, 91.1 +/- 9.2, 91.6 +/- 9.1, and 88.5 +/- 11.2 mg/dL), as did the m easures of insulin sensitivity, fasting insulin (pretest, drinking, and abs tention, 8.6 +/- 3.3, 8.6 +/- 4.1, and 9.1 +/- 4.7 muU/mg) and the insulin sensitivity index (3.60 +/- 2.96, 3.25 +/- 2.17, and 3.30 +/- 1.84). Body c omposition and blood lipids also remained unchanged (P > .05) during treatm ent. Moderate wine consumption at this dose in overweight women did not imp rove or impair insulin sensitivity, nor did it change any of the known corr elates of insulin sensitivity, including body weight and composition, blood lipids, and blood pressure. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.