Ultrasound can be used to detect early-developing insulin resistance in adults with obesity, according to a study published June 12 in the Journal of Ultrasound Medicine.
Here are three things to know from the study:
- Twenty participants with obesity but without Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes and five healthy “lean” control participants underwent ultrasound examinations of their deltoid and vastus lateralis muscles.
Two research assistants then independently analyzed and measured muscle echo intensity on the 300 ultrasound images, blinded to participant demographics. - Patients within the obese cohort exhibited “significantly higher” muscle echo intensity in both their deltoid and vastus lateralis muscles, “effectively identifying insulin resistance and impaired insulin sensitivity,” the study authors wrote.
- Researchers said muscle ultrasound shows potential as a noninvasive, radiation-free tool to detect insulin resistance, paving the way to earlier interventions against metabolic dysfunction.
Read the full study here.
