Gastric inhibitory polypeptide release after oral glucose: relationship to glucose intolerance, diabetes mellitus, and obesity.

Hypersecretion of immunoreactive gastric inhibitory polypeptide (IRGIP) has been reported previously in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and obesity. To ascertain the relative contribution of glucose intolerance and obesity to the abnormalities of IRGIP secretion, 114 subjects were studied during a standard oral glucose (75 g) tolerance test; responses of glucose, insulin, C-peptide, IRGIP, and glucagon were evaluated. The subjects were divided into six subgroups according to body weight and the degree of glucose intolerance. In normal weight subjects, the IRGIP response to oral glucose was significantly higher in the patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and DM than in the healthy control subjects (P < 0.05). In the obese subjects, no significant differences in mean IRGIP responses could be detected among control, IGT, and DM subjects. In spite of similar IRGIP responses, the obese IGT patients did release more insulin than the obese control subjects, suggesting that incretin factors other t...