METABOLIC PROFILE AND INSULIN SENSITIVITY IN HEALTHY-YOUNG MEXICANS WITH A STRONG FAMILY HISTORY OF NON-INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUSIN THE PATERNAL BRANCH

The objective was to identify early metabolic defects and insulin sens itivity in a group of healthy young Mexicans with a family history of NIDDM in first and second degree on the paternal branch. The design wa s a cross-sectional study, and the setting was a hospital and a school of medicine in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The subjects were 20 hea lthy, non-obese, young (age 19-20 years), born in Mexico, with family history of NIDDM in first and second degree in the paternal branch, an d 20 controls. Measurements were serum values of creatinin, uric acid, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride s, glucose, and insulin, insulin tolerance test, glucose/insulin ratio , LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio and LDL cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio. In terms of results, only the total cholesterol was slightly, although significantly (p = 0.05) higher in probands (4.3+/-0.5 mmol/L) than in control subjects ( 3.9+/-0.5 mmol/L). In conclusion, healthy young Mexicans with a strong family history of NIDDM in the paternal branch were not different in insulin sensitivity from those without family history of NIDDM, and on ly showed a slight increase in serum total cholesterol.