Liver‐Fat Accumulation and Insulin Resistance in Obese Women with Previous Gestational Diabetes

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Abstract
Objective: We determined whether fat accumulation in the liver is associated with features of insulin resistance independent of obesity. Research Methods and Procedures: We recruited 27 obese nondiabetic women in whom liver fat (LFAT) content was determined by proton spectroscopy, intra‐abdominal and subcutaneous fat by magnetic resonance imaging, and insulin sensitivity by the euglycemic insulin clamp technique. The women were divided based on their median LFAT content (5%) to groups with low (3.2 ± 0.3%) and high (9.8 ± 1.5%) liver fat. The groups were almost identical with respect to age (36 ± 1 vs. 38 ± 1 years in low vs. high‐LFAT), body mass index (32.2 ± 0.6 vs. 32.8 ± 0.5 kg/m2), waist‐to‐hip ratio, intra‐abdominal, subcutaneous, and total fat content. Results: Women with high LFAT had features of insulin resistance including higher fasting serum triglyceride (1.93 ± 0.21 vs. 1.11 ± 0.09 mM, p < 0.01) and insulin (14 ± 3 vs. 10 ± 1 mU/L, p < 0.05) concentrations than women with low LFAT. The group with high LFAT also had higher 24‐hour blood pressures, and lower whole‐body insulin sensitivity compared with the low‐LFAT group. Discussion: In obese women with previous gestational diabetes, LFAT, rather than any measure of body composition, is associated with features of insulin resistance.