Table 2. Glucose, NEFA, Insulin, BHB concentrations; HOMA, QUICKI, RQUICKI and RQUICKI-BHB indices in the different populations.

	Healthy-early lactation	DCS-early lactation	DCS-late lactation	DCS-dry period
Glucose (mg/dL)	48 ± 8	78 ± 42a	92 ± 78b	76 ± 34a
	37-47-64	21-68-157	23-79-194	35-65-145
NEFA (mmol/L)	0.45 ± 0.25	0.98 ± 0.39a	0.75 ± 0.44b	0.93 ± 0.33a
	0.08–0.41–0.97	0.34–0.90–1.86	0.20–0.70–1.64	0.42–0.83–1.64
Insulin (μU/ml)	17 ± 6	16 ± 9	18 ± 10b	18 ± 9
	7-18-26	4-14-38	4-16-38	3-18-34
BHB (mmol/L)	0.55 ± 0.21	0.79 ± 0.91	0.85 ± 1.32	1.07 ± 1.37
	0.20–0.60–0.93	0.10–0.52–3.88	0.01–0.40–5.00	0.10–0.70–3.91
HOMA	47 ± 19	69 ± 57a	92 ± 85b	83 ± 69a
	18-43-88	8-58-198	15-72-311	7-62-259
QUICKI	0.35 ± 0.03	0.34 ± 0.05	0.33 ± 0.04	0.34 ± 0.05
	0.31–0.35–0.40	0.28–0.33–0.46	0.27–0.32–0.41	0.27–0.33–0.48
RQUICKI	0.41 ± 0.06	0.34 ± 0.06a	0.35 ± 0.05	0.34 ± 0.06a
	0.34–0.41–0.56	0.27–0.34–0.50	0.27–0.35–0.47	0.27–0.33–0.51
RQUICKI-BHB	0.47 ± 0.08	0.39 ± 0.10a	0.42 ± 0.12	0.39 ± 0.13a
	0.38–0.46–0.62	0.27–0.38–0.60	0.25–0.41–0.70	0.25–0.34–0.64

Data represented as mean ± standard deviation and as 2.5–50–97.5 percentiles.

DCS = downer cow syndrome. NEFA: Non-Esterified Fatty Acids. BHB: Beta-hydroxy-butyrate. HOMA: Homeostasis Model Assessment. QUICKI: Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index. RQUICKI: Revised Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index.

^a = significantly different from healthy cows (p<0.001);

^b = significantly different from DCS cows in the early lactation period (p<0.001).