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Insulin Resistance Measurement

Meaning

Insulin resistance measurement refers to the clinical and laboratory methods used to quantify the reduced responsiveness of target cells, primarily in muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, to the action of the hormone insulin. This pathological condition requires the pancreas to secrete abnormally high levels of insulin to successfully maintain normal blood glucose levels, a state clinically known as hyperinsulinemia. Accurate measurement is fundamentally critical for diagnosing pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and other conditions where cellular glucose uptake is impaired. Common, validated metrics used in clinical practice include the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI).