Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How body fat affects insulin and diabetes risk in cats
By Strage, Emma M et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2021·Department of Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Homeostasis model assessment, serum insulin and their relation to body fat in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that overweight cats had higher levels of insulin and a specific measurement called HOMA-IR, which can indicate insulin resistance, compared to lean cats. Insulin resistance is a condition that can lead to diabetes in cats. The researchers measured body fat and found a clear link between higher body fat percentages and increased insulin levels. This information can help veterinarians assess the risk of diabetes in cats based on their weight and insulin levels. Further research is needed to determine how these measurements can be used in practice.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and considered a risk factor for diabetes mellitus (DM) in cats. It has been proposed that homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), which is the product of fasting serum insulin (mU/L) and glucose (mmol/L) divided by 22.5, can be used to indicate IR. The objectives of this study were threefold: (i) to evaluate associations between body fat, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR, (ii) to determine population-based reference interval of HOMA-IR in healthy lean cats, and (iii) to evaluate biological variation of HOMA-IR and fasting insulin in cats. RESULTS: 150 cats were grouped as lean or overweight based on body condition score and in 68 of the cats body fat percentage (BF%) was estimated by computed tomography. Fasting serum insulin and glucose concentrations were analysed. Statistical differences in HOMA-IR and insulin between overweight or lean cats were evaluated using Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Robust method with Box-Cox transformation was used for calculating HOMA-IR reference interval in healthy lean cats. Relations between BF% and HOMA-IR and insulin were evaluated by regression analysis. Restricted maximum likelihood ratio was used to calculate indices of biological variation of HOMA-IR and insulin in seven cats. There were significant differences between groups with overweight cats (n = 77) having higher HOMA-IR (p < 0.0001) and insulin (p = 0.0002) than lean cats (n = 73). Reference interval for HOMA-IR in lean cats was 0.1-3.0. HOMA-IR and fasting insulin concentrations showed similar significant positive association with BF% (p = 0.0010 and p = 0.0017, respectively). Within-animal coefficient of variation of HOMA-IR and insulin was 51% and 49%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HOMA-IR and fasting insulin higher in overweight than lean cats and correlate to BF%. The established population-based reference interval for HOMA-IR as well as the indices of biological variation for HOMA-IR and fasting insulin may be used when interpreting HOMA-IR and fasting insulin in cats. Further studies are needed to evaluate if HOMA-IR or fasting insulin is useful for identifying cats at risk of developing DM.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33461546/