Iron Status of Hyperinsulinemic/insulin Resistant Horses

Hyperinsulinemia unrelated to recent high soluble carbohydrate feeding and disproportionate to blood glucose levels, indicating insulin resistance, is well known to occur in equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, Cushing's disease), has been described in ponies and miniatures, and is receiving increasing attention as an underlying problem in horses prone to obesity and laminitis. In humans, several studies have identified iron overload as both a risk factor for the development of insulin resistance, and a consequence of insulin resistance. The purpose of this study was to determine if insulin resistant horses and ponies also show blood indices indicative of iron overload.