The role of insulin as a major risk factor for atherosclerosis resurfaced in the 1980s and was the subject of much research at the basic science, clinical, and epidemiological levels. The MRFIT serum data base probably was the only remaining such serum bank in the United States that could test the relationship between insulin levels and coronary heart disease mortality that included detailed measurements of other major cardiovascular risk factors, as well as both baseline and two-hour post-load glucose levels in a predominantly non-diabetic population.