Insulin resistance and its association with metabolic syndrome components.

BACKGROUND Individuals with insulin resistance are more prone to the development of metabolic syndrome (MS), Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic syndrome components. METHODS Cross-sectional study of 196 individuals between 2 and 18 years, treated at the Brazilian Public Healthcare system. The association of IR with the MS components was evaluated by Chi-square test, adopting the Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) value > 2.5, and by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test, by comparing the means of the components in the HOMA-IR quartiles. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 17.0 software and significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS IR was observed in 41.3% of the studied population and was associated with age between 10-18 years (p = 0.002 PR = 3.2), to MS in both sexes [Male (p = 0.022 PR = 3.7) and female (p = 0.007 PR = 2.7)] and altered triglycerides (p = 0.005 PR = 2.9) in females. The mean values of the MS components differed significantly between HOMA-IR quartiles (p <0.01), except for HDL-cholesterol. CONCLUSION Insulin resistance can be considered a marker of cardiovascular risk.