Advisory Committee Chair
Barbara A Gower
Advisory Committee Members
M Amanda Brown
Betty E Darnell
Jose R Fernandez
Robert A Oster
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2007
Degree Name by School
Master of Science (MS) School of Health Professions
Abstract
Insulin has anti-inflammatory properties. Markers of inflammation (MOI) increase in the postprandial state. African Americans (AA) have higher post-challenge insulin concentrations compared to European Americans (EA). The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between insulin and MOI in both the fasting and postprandial state. We hypothesized that, after accounting for confounding factors, fasting and postprandial insulin would be inversely associated with MOI, and that AA would have a lower postprandial inflammatory response because of a higher insulin response. C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL6), soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (sTNF-R2), and insulin concentrations were assessed at baseline and after a mixed meal tolerance test in 40 AA and 22 EA children ages 7-12 years. Body composition was assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and abdominal fat distribution with computed tomography (CT). All MOI were associated with body fat percentage. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that fasting insulin was not significantly associated with fasting MOI after adjusting for insulin sensitivity and percent body fat. Similarly, postprandial insulin was not associated with postprandial MOI. Mean sTNF-R2 was significantly lower among AA vs EA, both at baseline (3.73 ± 0.63 vs 4.80 ± 2.13 ng/mL, respectively; P<0.01) and following the meal (3.68 ± 0.64 vs 4.50 ± 1.99, respectively; P<0.05). The sTNF-R2 response remained lower among AA after adjusting for percent fat, insulin response, and insulin sensitivity (P < 0.05). In iii conclusion, fasting insulin and postprandial insulin response were not associated with inflammation among AA and EA children. Although sTNF-R2 was lower in AA, this was not explained by their higher insulin concentrations.
Recommended Citation
Alvarez, Jessica A., "The Association Between Insulin And Inflammation In African American And European American Children" (2007). All ETDs from UAB. 3550.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/3550