RESUMEN
The objective was to identify early metabolic defects and insulin sensitivity in a group of healthy young Mexicans with a family history of NIDDM in first and second degree on the paternal branch. The design was a cross-sectional study, and the setting was a hospital and a school of medicine in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The subjects were 20 healthy, non-obese, young (age 19-20 years), born in Mexico, with family history of NIDDM in first and second degree in the paternal branch, and 20 control. Measurements were serum values of creatinin, uric acid, total cholesctero, high-density lipoprotein cholestero, triglycerides, glucose, and insulin, insulin tolerance test, glucose/insulin ratio, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio and LDL clolesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio. In terms of results, only the total cholesteroa was slightly, although significantly )p=0.05) higher in probands (4.3 ñ 0.5 mmol/L) than in control subjects (3.9 ñ 0.5 mmol/L). In conclusion, healthy young Mexicans with astrong family history of NIDDM in the paternal branch were no different in insulin sensitivity from those without family history of NIIDM, and only showed a slight increase in serum total cholesterol