Biomarkers · Glycemic & Metabolic
Fasting Serum Insulin
The published study could not tell whether risk rises or falls: its 95% interval includes no change. In NHANES 1999–2018 with linked mortality to 2019, each standard deviation above average goes with 6% higher risk of death. We found the same pattern in NHANES
Fasting Serum Insulin and risk of death
Published curve higher than the NHANES fitNHANES fit higher
Risk of death from our NHANES fit, relative to its reference value. The dotted vertical line marks the NHANES median.
Fasting Serum Insulin by age and sex
Each bar runs from the 5th to the 95th percentile, the darker part from the 25th to the 75th, and the tick is the median. Not a reference range or a target.
The percentiles as a table
| Sex | Age | 5th | 25th | Median | 75th | 95th | n | Cycle / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 20-39 | 3.05 | 5.45 | 8.88 | 15.5 | 31.8 | 699 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| All | 40-59 | 2.96 | 5.94 | 9.10 | 15.2 | 33.2 | 758 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| All | 60+ | 4.21 | 6.67 | 9.90 | 15.7 | 31.4 | 909 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| All | all | 3.23 | 6.07 | 9.26 | 15.4 | 31.7 | 2,366 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Men | 20-39 | 2.86 | 4.92 | 7.89 | 14.5 | 31.7 | 327 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Men | 40-59 | 3.40 | 6.20 | 9.29 | 15.4 | 34.5 | 361 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Men | 60+ | 4.38 | 7.29 | 10.6 | 19.2 | 31.7 | 459 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Men | all | 3.29 | 6.11 | 9.13 | 15.8 | 32.9 | 1,147 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Women | 20-39 | 3.31 | 6.01 | 9.77 | 16.0 | 31.9 | 372 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Women | 40-59 | 2.67 | 5.85 | 8.85 | 14.6 | 31.9 | 397 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Women | 60+ | 3.97 | 6.23 | 9.47 | 14.1 | 25.1 | 450 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
| Women | all | 3.23 | 6.02 | 9.34 | 14.9 | 30.0 | 1,219 | NHANES 2017-2018 |
What studies found when this marker was changed
They describe what happened in those study groups, not a recommendation. See all catalogued interventions.
Measured changes in Fasting Serum Insulin, study by study
2 effects with a numeric size, each from one study arm: the dot is the reported change, the line its 95% interval where one was given. Study results in the groups studied, not predictions for a person.
| Type | Intervention | Reported effect | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| diet | Reduction of refined starches (energy-matched low-carbohydrate diet) | Energy-matched low-carbohydrate diet lowered fasting insulin vs high-carbohydrate diet (Hedges' g - 0.190; 95% CI - 0.361 to - 0.014; 18 RCTs) | meta-analysis | Anagnostou A, et al. Effects of energy-matched low- versus high-carbohydrate… |
| diet | Intermittent fasting (time-restricted feeding or intermittent energy restriction) | Intermittent fasting significantly reduced fasting insulin in young adults (age-dependent; effect size not reported) | meta-analysis | Xing K, et al. Age-Specific Analysis of the Effects of Intermittent Fasting on… |
| diet | 8-week DASH diet (52% carbohydrate, 18% protein, 30% fat, <2400 mg sodium, rich in fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy) in overweight/obese women with PCOS | Serum insulin changed by -1.88 uIU/mL on DASH vs +2.89 uIU/mL on the control diet at 8 weeks (p=0.03) | RCT | Asemi Z, et al. Horm Metab Res. 2015. DASH diet, insulin resistance, and serum… |
| exercise | Resistance training | Resistance training significantly reduced fasting insulin vs usual care in overweight/obese adults (RT-specific magnitude not reported) | meta-analysis | Jiao B, et al. Exercise and Insulin-Resistance Biomarkers in Adults With… |
| supplement | Daily probiotic capsule (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium bifidum, 2x10^9 CFU/g each) for 8 weeks in adults with major depressive disorder | Serum insulin changed by -2.3 uIU/mL with probiotic vs +2.6 uIU/mL with placebo at 8 weeks (P = 0.03) | RCT | Akkasheh G, et al. Nutrition. 2016. Clinical and metabolic response to… |
Sources
- Zhang et al. Fasting insulin, insulin resistance, and risk of cardiovascular or all-cause mortality in non-diabetic adults: a meta-analysis. Bioscience reports. 2017;37.
- NHANES curve: our Cox model adjusted for age and sex, NHANES 1999–2018 with linked mortality to 2019.
Map Fasting Serum Insulin against another biomarker.
Related markers: Fasting Plasma Glucose · Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) · Homeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) · Proinsulin