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Early BMI Gain and Later Height Growth Predicts Higher DHEAS Concentrations in 7-Year-Old Chilean Children
Verónica Mericq1, Ana Pereira, Ricardo Uauy
1Institute of Maternal and Child Research (IDIMI), University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Insights
Early childhood weight gain and height increases are linked to higher dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels by age seven. This suggests a connection between growth patterns and adrenal development in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Growth and Development
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Accelerated infant weight and height gain are linked to premature adrenarche.
- The precise timing of these growth patterns remains unclear.
- Understanding early growth's impact on adrenarche is crucial for child health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between early body mass index (BMI) and height growth.
- To assess how these growth patterns correlate with plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels at age seven.
- To define the tempo of growth associated with DHEAS levels before seven years of age.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal follow-up of 972 Chilean children (Growth and Obesity Chilean Cohort Study).
- Serial weight and height measurements from birth to seven years.
- Measurement of serum DHEAS, IGF-I, leptin, and insulin at age seven.
Main Results:
- Children with higher DHEAS levels at age seven were taller and had higher BMI.
- Elevated DHEAS was associated with being heavier from age four onwards.
- Significant associations were found between BMI SDS at four years and height SDS at seven years with DHEAS levels.
Conclusions:
- Weight and BMI gains between two and four years are associated with higher DHEAS levels at seven years.
- Height gains between four and seven years are also linked to elevated DHEAS levels at age seven.
- Early growth trajectories influence later DHEAS concentrations, indicating a potential link to adrenarche timing.
Background:
Accelerated weight and height gain in infancy have been associated with premature adrenarche. However, the exact tempo of these events remains undefined. Thus, our goal was to assess the relationship between early BMI and height growth in different periods before 7 years of age and plasma DHEAS levels at 7 years of age.
Methods:
This is a longitudinal follow-up of participants of the Growth and Obesity Chilean Cohort Study (GOCS) that represents Chilean children from low- to middle-income families. The subjects were 972 children (48% girls) with birth weights of 2,500-4,500 g for whom serial weight and height measurements from birth until 7 years were available. At 7 years of age, we also measured DHEAS, IGF-I, leptin, insulin, and other metabolic markers in serum. The main outcome of interest was plasma DHEAS concentrations at 7 years of age.
Results:
At 7 years of age, children with DHEAS >75th percentile of the sample were taller and fatter and presented higher HOMA-IR and IGF-I than their counterparts (p < 0.05). Children with higher DHEAS were heavier at 4 years of age and beyond compared to their counterparts (higher BMI [BMI SDS at 4 years: 1.16, 95% CI 1.02-1.29 vs. 0.83, 95% CI 0.76-0.91, p < 0.001]) and taller at 7 years of age (height SDS at 7 years: 0.19, 95% CI -0.08 to 0.31 vs. -0.001, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.06, p < 0.005).
Conclusions:
We observed weight and BMI from 2 to 4 years, and height gains from 4 to 7 years were associated with higher DHEAS levels at 7 years.
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