It seems strange to have the measuring unit for something be a “unit” instead of a measurement of mass. There is an agreed upon standard for what a milligram or a microgram is. Outside of the context of insulin, a “unit” is undefined and variable. Context: I’m an RN with type 1 diabetes. I understand drug concentrations and insulin dosing. This one just seems like a strange anomaly in the world of measuring medications. My only guess is that the actual hormone is so minuscule to measure that even nanograms and picograms can’t do it?
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IUs are used to measure the effectiveness of a compound. Since many compounds come in different formulations, you don’t need to bother with the mass; what you measure is the desired effect. Many vitamins (like D and A) that can be formulated in multiple ways will be measured in IUs because you’re interested in how well they do what they’re supposed to do. Importantly IUs, unlike mass units, are not comparable between things (I.e. 1000 IUs of vitamin A in no way can be compared with 1000 IUs of vitamin D).
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