Correlation of severity of coronary artery disease with insulin resistance

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) has known to be associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), but the assessment of severity of the CAD based on IR in type 2 diabetes mellitus has not been established in detail. Aims: The aim of our study was to establish the correlation between IR and the severity of CAD in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study design, 61 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who underwent coronary angiogram for the evaluation of CAD were recruited. Fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin levels, systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio were determined. Homeostasis model assessment-IR (HOMA-IR) was correlated with severity of CAD, which was measured by modified Gensini Score. Results: There was a significant correlation between log HOMA-IR and severity of CAD (r = 0.303, P = 0.009) in diabetic patients. Correlation of the Gensini Score with other known risk factors was not significant. Conclusions: The results of our study indicate that we might able to predict the severity of CAD by measure of IR.