Table 3.
Fasting metabolic variables before and during 2 week treatment with placebo, prednisolone 7.5 mg or prednisolone 30 mg
| Variable | Pre-treatment | On treatment | p valuea | p valueb | p valuec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FPG (mmol/l) | |||||
| Placebo | 5.0 ± 0.2 | 4.8 ± 0.3 | <0.0001 | 0.06 | <0.001 |
| 7.5 | 4.9 ± 0.2 | 5.1 ± 0.3 | |||
| 30 | 4.7 ± 0.2 | 5.4 ± 0.3 | |||
| Fasting plasma insulin (pmol/l) | |||||
| Placebo | 30 (16–51) | 28 (<15–38) | 0.0004 | 1.0 | 0.002 |
| 7.5 | 29 (<15–40) | 19 (<15–42) | |||
| 30 | 19 (<15–27) | 34 (23–51) | |||
| Fasting glucagon (ng/l) | |||||
| Placebo | 49 (39–55) | 41 (39–48) | 0.019 | 1.0 | 0.05 |
| 7.5 | 65 (53–74) | 61 (53–74) | |||
| 30 | 48 (41–59) | 62 (53–80) | |||
| Fasting NEFA (nmol/l) | |||||
| Placebo | 0.5 ± 0.2 | 0.5 ± 0.1 | 0.017 | 1.0 | 0.11 |
| 7.5 | 0.4 ± 0.1 | 0.5 ± 0.1 | |||
| 30 | 0.6 ± 0.2 | 0.4 ± 0.1 | |||
| Fasting TG (mmol/l) | |||||
| Placebo | 0.54 (0.41–0.88) | 0.53 (0.34–0.73) | 0.019 | 0.836 | 0.028 |
| 7.5 | 0.76 (0.55–1.00) | 0.74 (0.62–0.91) | |||
| 30 | 0.59 (0.35–0.72) | 0.68 (0.62–1.20) | |||
Data are means ± SD or medians (interquartile range)
For plasma insulin levels, the limit of quantification was 15 pmol/l; in the statistical calculations, a value of 7.5 pmol/l was chosen for values below this limit
7.5, prednisolone 7.5 mg; 30, prednisolone 30 mg
aBetween-group changes from baseline were tested by Kruskal–Wallis
bPlacebo vs prednisolone 7.5 mg or c30 mg (post hoc testing by Mann–Whitney U in the case of a significant finding with Kruskal–Wallis; Bonferroni correction was applied to correct for multiple testing)