Association between cytomegalovirus infection and insulin resistance: evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004)

Abstract Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been shown to induce insulin resistance in animal models, but this relationship in humans remains unknown. Therefore, we conducted the present study to assess the association between CMV infection and insulin resistance in a nationally representative population in the United States. Methods We analyzed data from 2391 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohort 1999–2004. Binary logistic regression models were used to assess the association between CMV infection and insulin resistance in the overall population and subgroups stratified by gender and weight status. The full model was adjusted by covariates including age, race, educational level, and poverty income ratio. Results 1519 (63.5%) participants had CMV infection, and 561 (23.5%) had insulin resistance. Logistic regression analyses showed that CMV infection was significantly associated with insulin resistance in males with overweight (OR: 2.32; 95% CI: 1.15–4.72) and obesity (OR:2.91; 95% CI:1.13–7.45) after adjusting covariates. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that CMV infection was an independent risk factor of insulin resistance in males who were overweight or obese. Clarifying the relationship between CMV infection and insulin resistance may prevent T2DM in the general population.