The authors assessed the prevalence of insulin resistance, impaired fasting glycaemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and diabetes mellitus in 589 randomly selected individuals aged > 25 years from the Ngati Porou Hauora Register. A questionnaire and anthropometric measures were used to determine the effectiveness of different ways of identifying individuals with insulin resistance. Rates of diabetes (10.6%) and insulin resistance (37.0%) were high in this population. Diabetes was most prevalent in those aged 60-69 (34.1%), whereas rates of insulin resistance were highest amongst participants aged 30-39 (44.3%). Factors more common in insulin-resistant individuals were gout and family history of diabetes. These individuals also had greater waist circumferences, higher blood pressure, and lower levels of HDL cholesterol. The authors note that given the links between insulin resistance, cardiovascular risk and development of type 2 diabetes, the high rates of insulin resistance in younger members of this population are of particular concern.
