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Medical Author:

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C)

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C)

Ruchi Mathur, MD, FRCP(C) is an Attending Physician with the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and Associate Director of Clinical Research, Recruitment and Phenotyping with the Center for Androgen Related Disorders, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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A physician can identify individuals who are likely to have insulin resistance with a detailed patient history, physical examination, and laboratory testing.

In general clinical practice, glucose levels in conjunction with fasting insulin levels provide the physician with information as to whether insulin resistance is present, or not present, in patients without diabetes. A firm diagnosis cannot be made simply based on this, since the lab techniques for measuring insulin can vary, and there is no absolute value used for the definition. However, an insulin level above the upper quartile in the fasting state in someone without diabetes is considered abnormal. In addition, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) can be used to detect insulin resistance and is more sensitive for detecting milder/earlier disease. It involves drinking a known amount of simple sugar and measuring blood glucose and insulin levels at baseline as well as one and two (and sometimes three) hours after drinking.

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