Reduced gastric inhibitory polypeptide but normal glucagon-like peptide 1 response to oral glucose in postmenopausal women with impaired glucose tolerance

Abstract

Objective: The gastrointestinal hormones, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), are both released from the gut after oral glucose ingestion and stimulate insulin secretion. This study examined the release of these hormones in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), which precedes the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

Design and methods: Six postmenopausal women with IGT, aged 59 years, underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and plasma levels of GIP and GLP-1 were determined regularly during the following 2 h. The results were compared with those in seven age- and weight-matched women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT).

Results: Basal plasma levels of GIP and GLP-1 were not different between the groups. In response to the oral glucose ingestion, plasma levels of both GIP and GLP-1 increased in both groups. The plasma GIP increase after glucose ingestion was, however, reduced in women with IGT. Thus, the GIP response as determined as the area under the curve for the 60 min after oral glucose was 34.8 +/- 3.2 pmol/l per min in women with IGT versus 56.4 +/- 7.8 pmol/l per min in those with NGT (P = 0.021). In contrast, the GLP-1 response to oral glucose was not different between the groups. By definition, the glucose response to oral glucose was markedly increased in women with IGT, and the insulin response during the second hour after glucose ingestion was exaggerated.

Conclusions: The GIP response to oral glucose is impaired in postmenopausal women with IGT, whereas the plasma GLP-1 response is not affected.