HOMA1-IR and HOMA2-IR indexes in identifying insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome - Brazilian Metabolic Syndrome Study (BRAMS)

Objective: To investigate cut-off values for HOMA1-IR and HOMA2-IR to identify insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic syndrome (MS), and to assess the association of the indexes with components of the MS. Methods: Nondiabetic subjects from the Brazilian Metabolic Syndrome Study were studied (n = 1,203, 18 to 78 years). The cut-off values for IR were determined from the 9011 percentile in the healthy group (n = 297) and, for MS, a ROC curve was generated for the total sample. Results: In the healthy group, HOMA-IR indexes were associated with central obesity, triglycerides and total cholesterol (p < 0.001). The cut-off values for IR were: HOMA1-IR > 2.7 and HOMA2-IR > 1.8; and, for MS were: HOMA1-IR > 2.3 (sensitivity: 76.8%; specificity: 66.7%) and HOMA2-IR > 1.4 (sensitivity: 79.2%; specificity: 61.2%). Conclusions: The cut-off values identified for HOMA1-IR and HOMA2-IR indexes have a clinical and epidemiological application for identifying IR and MS in Westernized admixtured multi-ethnic populations. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab. 2009;53(2):281-287.