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Neonatal adiposity increases with rising cord blood IGF-1 levels
Rachel Kadakia1, Madeleine Ma2, Jami L Josefson1
1Division of Endocrinology, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Insights
Higher cord blood Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) in newborns is linked to increased neonatal adiposity. This suggests IGF-1 may play a role in early fat accumulation, potentially impacting future obesity risk.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Neonatalogy
- Pediatric Obesity
Background:
- Infant adiposity at birth is a potential risk factor for later obesity.
- Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) is crucial for intrauterine growth and may indicate early adiposity.
- Identifying early markers for obesity risk is critical for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between cord blood IGF-1 levels and neonatal anthropometrics.
- To determine the relationship between cord blood IGF-1 and markers of neonatal adiposity.
- To explore IGF-1's potential role in intrauterine fat accumulation.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of a multiethnic cohort of full-term neonates.
- Cord blood was collected for IGF-1, leptin, and C-peptide assays.
- Neonatal body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography within 72 hours of birth.
Main Results:
- Cord blood IGF-1 showed significant positive associations with birthweight (r=0.62), leptin (r=0.33), fat mass (r=0.52), and percent body fat (r=0.51).
- These associations remained significant after adjusting for maternal and neonatal factors.
- No significant association was found between cord blood IGF-1 and cord blood C-peptide.
Conclusions:
- Cord blood IGF-1 is strongly correlated with multiple measures of neonatal adiposity.
- These findings suggest IGF-1 is a key factor in neonatal fat accumulation during gestation.
- IGF-1 may serve as an important early biomarker for assessing adiposity and future obesity risk.
Objective:
Infants with higher adiposity at birth may be at greater risk of developing obesity later in life. IGF-1 is important for intrauterine growth and may be a useful early life marker of adiposity, and thus later obesity risk. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between cord blood IGF-1, neonatal anthropometrics and markers of neonatal adiposity.
Design, Patients And Measurements:
A cross-sectional study design was utilized to study a multiethnic cohort of full-term neonates born to healthy mothers with normal glucose tolerance at a large university hospital. Neonatal cord blood was collected after birth and assayed for IGF-1, leptin and C-peptide. Neonatal body composition was measured between 24 and 72 h of life using the method of air displacement plethysmography.
Results:
Cord blood IGF-1 was positively and significantly associated with markers of neonatal adiposity in models adjusted for maternal age at delivery, race, maternal prepregnancy BMI, gestational age at delivery and neonatal sex: birthweight (r = 0·62, P < 0·001), leptin (r = 0·33, P = 0·018), fat mass (r = 0·52, P < 0·001) and percent body fat (r = 0·51, P < 0·001). Cord blood IGF-1 was not associated with cord blood C-peptide.
Conclusions:
Cord blood IGF-1 is strongly associated with all measures of neonatal adiposity suggesting that IGF-1 may be an important contributor to in utero neonatal fat accumulation.
