Association between glucose fluctuation during 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test, inflammation and oxidative stress markers, and β-cell function in a Chinese population with normal glucose tolerance

Chifa Ma; Yiwen Liu; Shuli He; Jingbo Zeng; Pingping Li; Chunxiao Ma; Fan Ping; Huabing Zhang; Lingling Xu; Wei Li; Yuxiu Li

doi:10.21037/atm-20-6119

Association between glucose fluctuation during 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test, inflammation and oxidative stress markers, and β-cell function in a Chinese population with normal glucose tolerance

Ann Transl Med. 2021 Feb;9(4):327. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-6119.

Authors

Chifa Ma¹, Yiwen Liu¹, Shuli He², Jingbo Zeng³, Pingping Li^{4

5}, Chunxiao Ma^{4

5}, Fan Ping¹, Huabing Zhang¹, Lingling Xu¹, Wei Li¹, Yuxiu Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology, Key Laboratory of Endocrinology, Ministry of Health, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Department of Nutrition, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Endocrinology, Fuxing Hospital, the Eighth Clinical Medical College, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
⁵ Diabetes Research Center of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Backgrounds: Glucose fluctuation (GF) may have detrimental effects in individuals with diabetes; however, clinical data on the association between short-term GF, inflammation/oxidative stress markers, and islet β-cell function based on a population with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) are insufficient. Therefore, we aimed to explore these associations in a Chinese population of 209 individuals with NGT in a cross-sectional analysis.

Methods: Individuals were categorized based on GF tertiles, calculated as the maximum-minimum glucose levels among four time points (0, 30, 60, 120 min) during 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Plasma inflammation markers tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and oxidative stress markers superoxide dismutase (SOD), and 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxo-dG) were measured. Islet β-cell function was estimated according to the disposition index (DI) at the early (30 min) and total (120 min) phase of the OGTT, adjusted for insulin sensitivity.

Results: Individuals in the middle and highest tertile of GF had reduced β-cell function, and increased plasma SOD and TNF-α levels compared with those in the lowest tertile of GF (P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that GF was positively associated with TNF-α, 8-oxo-dG and SOD levels, but negatively associated with β-cell function, whereas IL-6, TNF-α, 8-oxo-dG and SOD levels were negatively associated with β-cell function (P<0.05).

Conclusions: GF may increase inflammation and oxidative stress markers in individuals with NGT, which could contribute to reduced β-cell function. Thus, maintaining glucose stability after a meal may have beneficial effects on delaying β-cell dysfunction, suggesting that diet and exercise strategies to decrease diet related GF are warranted.

Keywords: glucose fluctuation; inflammation; oxidative stress; β-cell function.