Association of Obesity with Insulin Resistance, Dyslipidemia, Vitamin D Deficiency, and Glycemic Dysregulation in Pre-Diabetic Patients: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

This case-control study investigates the interplay between obesity, insulin resistance (IR), hyperlipidemia, vitamin D status, and diabetes risk markers in 90 obese pre-diabetic cases and 20 non-obese controls. Obese cases showed markedly elevated BMI (37.1 ± 5.18 kg/m² vs. 22.83 ± 1.64, p<0.001), fasting insulin (26.4 ± 16.12 µU/mL vs. 9.55 ± 2.61, p<0.001), HOMA-IR (7.4 ± 4.99 vs. 2.19 ± 0.18, p<0.001), total cholesterol (212.66 ± 12.34 mg/dL vs. 166.35 ± 8.8, p<0.001), triglycerides (164.39 ± 11.46 mg/dL vs. 139.8 ± 22.99, p<0.001), and HbA1c (6.02 ± 0.27% vs. 5.04 ± 0.3%, p<0.001), with universal vitamin D deficiency (81.1% abnormal). BMI positively correlated with FBS (r=0.291, p=0.005), HbA1c (r=0.320, p=0.002), cholesterol (r=0.607, p<0.001), triglycerides (r=0.519, p<0.001), and HOMA-IR (r=0.246, p=0.019). These findings underscore obesity's role in driving IR and metabolic perturbations, aligning with recent evidence linking adiposity to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) progression(1).

Obese individuals exhibit significantly higher BMI, fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, cholesterol, triglycerides, and HbA1c compared to controls, alongside vitamin D deficiency(2).