Alpha cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes: associations with insulin resistance and reduced insulin secretion
Authors' conclusion
In T2DM, impaired glucagon suppression during OGTT is associated with insulin resistance closely, highlighting insulin resistance as a key factor in alpha-cell dysfunction.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with T2D treated at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, October 2022 to March 2025, who underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT)
- Participants
- 247 patients
- Exposure
- Glucagon levels across quartiles of insulin resistance and insulin secretion indices
- Outcome
- Associations of insulin resistance (HomaIR, CPRIR) and insulin secretion (AUCcp, HomaB, first PH, second PH) with glucagon levels during OGTT
Methodological detailssingle-centre, generalized linear models, mediation analysis
- Single-centre
- Generalized linear models
- Mediation analysis
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Glucagon levels during OGTT
- Glucagon significantly elevated with severe insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HomaIR) Q3 and CPRIR Q1), even after adjusting for confounders
- Poorest insulin secretion (AUCcp Q1, HomaB Q1, first PH Q1, second PH Q1) did not show elevated glucagon vs better secretion
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Mediation analysis
- Neither AUCcp nor HomaB mediated the relationship between insulin resistance and glucagon levels
Model fit and sensitivity analyses
- Satisfactory model fit; sensitivity analyses (excluding influential points by Cook's distance; bootstrapped CIs) yielded consistent results
Original publication
Alpha cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes: associations with insulin resistance and reduced insulin secretion. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. Published 30 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →