Metabolism Review

Evidence map

Insulin resistance: what the evidence base looks like

12 publications, 0 of them trials and 8 syntheses. This page describes the shape of that literature rather than summarising its conclusions.

Updated 3 min read 12 citations

What the evidence on insulin resistance is made of Of 12 publications on this topic, the breakdown by study type: 8 meta-analysis, 4 review. 84meta-analysis (8)review (4)
12 publications, by study type. Volume is not strength — the same count can be a settled question or a pile of commentary, and which one it is depends almost entirely on this breakdown. Harvested from PubMed and Crossref; publication type as recorded by the source.

What this literature is made of

The synthesis is ahead of the primary literature here — reviews and meta-analyses drawing on a modest number of underlying studies. Treat confident conclusions with the caution the sample size deserves.

The distinction that matters most is between synthesis and primary research. A meta-analysis pools trials and is the closest thing to a settled answer a field produces. A narrative review is one group's reading of the same material and can be selective without being dishonest. Counting them together, which most citation counts do, obscures exactly the thing you want to know.

When the insulin resistance literature was published Publication years for the 12 papers on this topic, grouped into bands from before 2015 through to 2023 onwards. 2023 onwards6 papers2020-20223 papers2015-20192 papersBefore 20151 papers
Still active. The most recent paper here is from 2025, so this is a field where an answer written today may not hold for long. Publication years as recorded by PubMed and Crossref.

How this page is built

Everything above is computed from the citations this site harvested from PubMed and Crossref, not written by hand. When the weekly harvest finds a new paper on this topic, these counts change and the characterisation changes with them. That is the point: a hand-written claim about how strong an evidence base is starts decaying the day it is written.

Publication type is taken as the source records it. That is imperfect — journals label inconsistently, and a paper indexed as a "review" may be a systematic one — so treat the bands as approximate. They are accurate enough to distinguish a trial literature from a commentary literature, which is the distinction that matters.

The strongest work on this topic

Ordered by study design first, then recency. The full set is listed in the references below.

  1. Effects of combined aerobic and resistance training on glycemic control, blood pressure, inflammation, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis — Al-Mhanna SB, Batrakoulis A, Wan Ghazali WS et al., 2024, meta-analysis
  2. Cellular and Molecular Pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes — Torres-Torres J, Monroy-Muñoz IE, Perez-Duran J et al., 2024, systematic review
  3. The crucial role and mechanism of insulin resistance in metabolic disease — Zhao X, An X, Yang C et al., 2023, systematic review
  4. Adipose Tissue Dysfunction in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome — Bril F, Ezeh U, Amiri M et al., 2023, systematic review
  5. Polycystic ovaries and herbal remedies: A systematic review — Manouchehri A, Abbaszadeh S, Ahmadi M et al., 2023, systematic review
  6. Life Modifications and PCOS: Old Story But New Tales — Gu Y, Zhou G, Zhou F et al., 2022, systematic review
  7. Role of gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology — Gurung M, Li Z, You H et al., 2020, systematic review
  8. Exercise and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis — Sampath Kumar A, Maiya AG, Shastry BA et al., 2019, meta-analysis
  9. Integrative metabolism in MASLD and MASH: Pathophysiology and emerging mechanisms — Steinberg GR, Valvano CM, De Nardo W et al., 2025, review
  10. Pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus — Galicia-Garcia U, Benito-Vicente A, Jebari S et al., 2020, review
How much research is there on insulin resistance?
12 publications are indexed here, of which 0 are trials and 8 are syntheses.
Does more research mean a stronger conclusion?
No. Composition matters more than volume — five randomised trials support a claim far better than fifty commentaries, and citation counts do not distinguish between them.
How current is this?
The most recent paper indexed here is from 2025. The set is refreshed weekly from PubMed and Crossref.
Why does this page not tell me the answer?
Because summarising a literature into a conclusion requires reading it, and doing that automatically is how confident nonsense gets published. This page tells you how much weight a conclusion could bear; the articles on this site do the interpreting.

References

Every citation below links to the original peer-reviewed record on PubMed or via DOI. Nothing here is a substitute for medical advice.

  1. Cellular and Molecular Pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes Torres-Torres J, Monroy-Muñoz IE, Perez-Duran J, et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2024 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 39519193Full text
  2. Effects of combined aerobic and resistance training on glycemic control, blood pressure, inflammation, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis Al-Mhanna SB, Batrakoulis A, Wan Ghazali WS, et al. · PeerJ · 2024 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 38887616Full text
  3. Adipose Tissue Dysfunction in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Bril F, Ezeh U, Amiri M, et al. · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2023 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 37329216Full text
  4. The crucial role and mechanism of insulin resistance in metabolic disease Zhao X, An X, Yang C, et al. · Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 37056675Full text
  5. Polycystic ovaries and herbal remedies: A systematic review Manouchehri A, Abbaszadeh S, Ahmadi M, et al. · JBRA assisted reproduction · 2023 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 35916457Full text
  6. Life Modifications and PCOS: Old Story But New Tales Gu Y, Zhou G, Zhou F, et al. · Frontiers in endocrinology · 2022 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 35498415Full text
  7. Role of gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes pathophysiology Gurung M, Li Z, You H, et al. · EBioMedicine · 2020 · Systematic review DOIPubMed 31901868Full text
  8. Exercise and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis Sampath Kumar A, Maiya AG, Shastry BA, et al. · Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2019 · Meta-analysis DOIPubMed 30553010
  9. Integrative metabolism in MASLD and MASH: Pathophysiology and emerging mechanisms Steinberg GR, Valvano CM, De Nardo W, et al. · Journal of hepatology · 2025 · Review DOIPubMed 40032040
  10. Pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Galicia-Garcia U, Benito-Vicente A, Jebari S, et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2020 · Review DOIPubMed 32872570Full text
  11. The Pathophysiology of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Plows JF, Stanley JL, Baker PN, et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2018 · Review DOIPubMed 30373146Full text
  12. A comprehensive definition for metabolic syndrome Huang PL · Disease models & mechanisms · 2009 · Review DOIPubMed 19407331Full text