Insulin sensitivity is more related to fat distribution than to heredity for hypertension in normotensive men

The insulin-mediated glucose disposal rate was assessed during a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp in 16 normotensive men (mean age, 41 +/- 5 years) with positive family histories of hypertension and mild overweight (PFHO) and in 25 men with negative family histories of hypertension (NFH). The control group was divided into one group with normal body weight ([NFHN] n = 11) and a second group with a similar degree of overweight ([NFHO] n = 14) as in the group with PFHO. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly greater in subjects with PFHO as compared with the NFHN group. Blood glucose and plasma insulin at baseline and during the insulin clamp did not differ between the three groups. Insulin sensitivity, expressed as the glucose disposal rate per total body weight, was significantly (P < .01) decreased in PFHO subjects (7.7 +/- 3.0 mg/kg/min) and in NFHO subjects (7.1 +/- 3.5 mg/kg/min) as compared with NFHN subjects (11.1 +/- 4.0 mg/kg/min). In multivariate analysis using body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and blood pressure as predictor variables, the waist to hip ratio was significantly related to both baseline plasma insulin (r = .70, P < .0001) and insulin sensitivity (r = -.71, P < .0001). In the present study, insulin sensitivity was related to body weight and fat distribution, whereas no difference was found regarding insulin sensitivity in subjects with or without positive family histories of hypertension.