Screening for a Simple and Effective Indicator of Insulin Resistance in Chinese Reproductive-Aged Women, with the Insulin Clamp Technique as a Reference

Background: Applying the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to estimate insulin resistance (IR) is accurate but time-consuming, so identifying a simple and effective index for IR is vitally important. The present study aimed to compare the lipid accumulation product (LAP), visceral adiposity index (VAI), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp as a reference and to screen a simple and effective indicator for IR in Chinese women of childbearing age. Methods: The present study included a cross-sectional study of 537 reproductive-aged women and an interventional study of 90 randomly chosen polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) women. Physical, laboratory, and hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp were completed, and the BMI, WC, LAP, VAI, CVAI, and HOMA-IR were calculated. A linear correlation and a receiver operating characteristic curve were performed. After intervention with metformin, the effects were estimated in the third month. Results: PCOS women had worse glycometabolism, serum lipid metabolism and IR, and higher prevalence rates of metabolic disorders than those without PCOS. The CVAI was strongly associated with the M value (r = -0.6953, P < 0.0001) and outperformed other parameters with the largest area under the curve (0.903) and Youden index (71.07%) for IR diagnosis in Chinese reproductive-aged women, and the diagnostic point was >28.5. After 3 months of metformin therapy, IR improved with remarkable increases in M value and reductions in the CVAI. Conclusion: The CVAI can be used as an appropriate surrogate indicator for the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to identify IR in Chinese women of childbearing age. The interventional trial part of this study has been registered as a clinical trial (no. ChiCTR-IIR-16007901).