Elevated 1 h post-load plasma glucose associates with decreased serum lipoprotein lipase in youth and decreased leg fat mass in midlife

We tested whether elevated 1 h post-load glucose (1hPG) was associated with decreased leg fat (relative to body fat) and serum concentrations of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), a rate-limiting enzyme for lipid storage in subcutaneous leg fat. Body fat mass and distribution, as measured by DXA, surrogate measures of insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion inferred from serum insulin kinetics during a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, as well as serum adipokines and LPL, were assessed in 164 Japanese female university students and 94 middle-aged parents. They all had normal glucose tolerance. Students provided their birth weight. Elevated 1hPG was found in 6% of daughters and 22% of parents. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that log insulinogenic index (IGI) (OR: 0.031, 95% CI 0.003-0.30, p = 0.003) and serum LPL (OR: 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.98, p = 0.01) were associated with elevated 1hPG independently of serum adiponectin and birth weight in young Japanese. In middle-aged Japanese, the ratio of leg fat to body fat (OR: 0.66, 95% CI 0.44-0.97, p = 0.03), log IGI (OR: 0.002, 95% CI 0.00003-0.07, p = 0.001), and Matsuda index (OR: 0.67, 95% CI 0.47-0.96, p = 0.03) were related to elevated 1hPG independently of fat mass index, the ratio of trunk fat to body fat, LPL, and homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance. A decreased amount of leg fat in middle-aged Japanese with elevated 1hPG may be explained hypothetically by a prolonged deficiency of LPL.