Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Electrochemiluminescence Assays for Human Islet Autoantibodies
Published on: March 23, 2018
Association between serum IGF-1 and diabetes among U.S. adults
Srinivas Teppala1, Anoop Shankar
1Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
Objective:
Serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 may have a role in the maintenance of glucose homeostasis. We examined the association between serum IGF-1 and diabetes in a representative sample of U.S. adults.
Research Design And Methods:
Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) participants aged ≥ 18 years (n = 5,511) were the subjects of the study. The main outcome was the presence of diabetes (n = 387).
Results:
Lower serum IGF-1 levels were positively associated with diabetes after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol intake, BMI, hypertension, glomerular filtration rate, and serum cholesterol. Compared with quartile 4 of IGF-1 (referent), the odds ratio (OR) of diabetes associated with quartile 1 was OR 2.16 (95% CI 1.24-3.76); P-trend = 0.002. However, the observed association between IGF-1 and diabetes was present only in those < 65 years of age (OR = 3.05; P-trend = 0.006) and disappeared in those ≥ 65 years of age (OR = 0.51; P-trend = 0.18); P-interaction = 0.0056.
Conclusions:
Low IGF-1 levels are associated with diabetes among young subjects.
Related Concept Videos
Diabetes: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Complications
Type I Diabetes III: Clinical Manifestations
Type II Diabetes Mellitus III: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis
Type I Diabetes I: Introduction
Type I Diabetes II: Pathophysiology
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...