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Updated: May 3, 2026

Differentiated Mouse Adipocytes in Primary Culture: A Model of Insulin Resistance
Published on: February 17, 2023
Link between insulin resistance and hypertension: What is the evidence from evolutionary biology?
Ming-Sheng Zhou1, Aimei Wang, Hong Yu
1Department of Physiology, Liaoning Medical University, No, 40, Section 3 Songpo Road, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China. zhoums1963@163.com.
Abstract:
Insulin resistance and hypertension are considered as prototypical "diseases of civilization" that are manifested in the modern environment as plentiful food and sedentary life. The human propensity for insulin resistance and hypertension is a product, at least in part, of our evolutionary history. Adaptation to ancient lifestyle characterized by a low sodium, low-calorie food supply and physical stress to injury response has driven our evolution to shape and preserve a thrifty genotype, which is favorite with energy-saving and sodium conservation. As our civilization evolved, a sedentary lifestyle and sodium- and energy-rich diet, the thrifty genotype is no longer advantageous, and may be maladaptive to disease phenotype, such as hypertension, obesity and insulin resistance syndrome. This article reviews human evolution and the impact of the modern environment on hypertension and insulin resistance.
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