Insulin Resistance and Left Ventricular Mass in Non-Diabetic Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract Background Insulin resistance (IR) is frequently recognized in patients with uremia, and it is thought that IR has a basic role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Objective To evaluate the effect of IR on cardiovascular risk in non-diabetic patients receiving hemodialysis (HD). Methods We performed a cross-sectional observational study that comprised 186 non-diabetic patients receiving HD (95 men; mean [SD] age, 46.4 [10.8] years; age range, 35–60 years) who had been receiving HD for 7.3 (3.5) years. Demographic variables and laboratory values were recorded. Insulin resistance was determined using the Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA), and the left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was calculated via echocardiography. Results According to HOMA-IR levels, patients were categorized as having IR (HOMA-IR score ≥2.5; n = 53) or not having IR (HOMA-IR score