In line with these findings, the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI), a validated surrogate marker inversely correlated with insulin resistance, was significantly reduced in the disease group (0.48 ± 0.03) compared to the control group (1.16 ± 0.16, p < 0.001), further confirming the presence of impaired insulin sensitivity (Fig. 2). Here, INS is linked to Insulin resistance.