Correlation between the Indexes of Insulin Resistance and Renal Function in the Presence of Hypertension

It is important to establishthe association between insulin resistance and renal function; however, the reported associations differ across studies. Different underlying pathophysiologies of the studied populations may affect the associations. There have been no reports on the relationship between insulin resistance and renal function in the presence of hypertension (HT). We investigated the correlation between a homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in subjects with and without HT.

The study included 214 individuals (mean age: 65.6 years) who were nonmedicated and cardiovascular disease-free. Clinical variables, including blood pressure (BP), creatinine, glucose and lipid panels, were measured.

The HT group showed significantly higher levels of systolic/diastolic BP than the non-HT group. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the eGFR in the non-HT group was independently, significantly and inversely correlated with HOMA-IR, while the eGFR in the HT group was independently, significantly and inversely correlated with systolic BP, but not with HOMA-IR.

A clearer correlation between HOMA-IR and eGFR was observed in the non-HT group than the HT group, suggesting that HT may attenuate the direct correlation between the insulin resistance and renal function indices.