Sex- and age-related differences of metabolic parameters in impaired glucose metabolism and type 2 diabetes compared to normal glucose tolerance
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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Characterization of Metabolic Status in Nonhuman Primates with the Intravenous Glucose Tolerance Test
Published on: November 13, 2016
Andrea Tura1, Giovanni Pacini1, Ermanno Moro2
1Metabolic Unit, CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35127 Padova, Italy.
Aims:
This study analysed potential sex differences in glucose metabolism of European subjects with different degrees of glucose tolerance impairment.
Methods:
Subjects with impaired glucose metabolism, IGM (n = 735), or type 2 diabetes, T2DM (n = 415), were compared to subjects with normal glucose tolerance, NGT (n = 422), with similar BMI. For both males (M) and females (F), 50 years threshold was used for estimation of menopausal/andropausal state. Subjects underwent 75-g OGTT for measurements of insulin sensitivity (OGIS), beta-cell function (insulinogenic index, IGIC), and overall metabolic condition, disposition index (DI).
Results:
In IGM, OGIS did not change with age in both sexes, whereas marked reduction of IGIC was seen in F (p = 0.0003). In T2DM, again OGIS did not change with age, but M ≥ 50 yrs had reduced IGIC and DI (p < 0.002) compared to M < 50 yrs.
Conclusions:
IGM did not reveal relevant changes of insulin resistance with age, but early phase insulin release deteriorated, with higher change in women. T2DM men featured age-related deterioration of glucose metabolism. In women, sex advantage seen in NGT vanished in T2DM, since glucose metabolism was overall not different than in men, both young and elderly.
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