Insulin resistance

What causes insulin resistance and what is it linked to?

Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body's cells do not respond to insulin, made by the pancreas, the way they should [1]. Researchers do not fully understand what causes insulin resistance and prediabetes, but risk factors include overweight, obesity, or a large waist size, being age 35 or older, family history, physical inactivity, and conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Cushing's syndrome, acromegaly, and sleep apnea [1]. Related problems include high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes [1]. Metabolic syndrome is also called insulin resistance syndrome [2].

Is insulin resistance routinely tested?

Health care professionals may not test for insulin resistance directly; the test for insulin resistance is primarily used only for research studies [1]. Prediabetes, by contrast, is diagnosed with blood glucose tests such as A1C [1]. When cells do not respond normally to insulin, insulin blood levels rise above normal, and many women with PCOS have insulin resistance, especially those with overweight or obesity [3]. On the drug side, the tirzepatide label reports that it increases insulin sensitivity, shown in a clamp study in people with type 2 diabetes after 28 weeks [4].