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Hyperglycemia, Insulin Resistance in Teens Linked to Worsening Cardiac Damage at Age 24

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on May 9, 2025.

FRIDAY, May 9, 2025 -- Adolescent hyperglycemia and worsening insulin resistance (IR) are associated with an increased risk for worsening structural and functional cardiac damage, according to a study published online April 29 in Diabetes Care.

Andrew O. Agbaje, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., from the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio, and colleagues examined whether changes in metabolic status from adolescence to young adulthood are associated with the risk for progressive cardiac remodeling and examined potential mechanistic pathways among 1,595 adolescents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels and echocardiography left ventricular (LV) mass indexed for height raised to the power of 2.7 (LVMI^2.7) were obtained at a mean age of 17.7 years and at age 24 years.

The researchers found that from baseline to follow-up, there was an increase in the prevalence of LV hypertrophy, from 2.4 to 7.1 percent. Over seven years, there was an independent association for each unit increase of glucose and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) with increased LVMI^2.7. Higher odds of worsening LV hypertrophy over seven years were seen in association with persistent hyperglycemia of 5.6 and 6.1 mmol/L (odds ratios, 1.46 and 3.10, respectively). The association of increased HOMA-IR with increased LVMI^2.7 was significantly mediated by increased fat mass (62 percent mediation).

"Efforts targeted at preventing and treating adolescent obesity may help disrupt the pathogenesis of IR, young-onset type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular alterations in later life," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

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Posted May 2025

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