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Are cord blood visfatin concentrations different depending on birth weight category?
Cynthia María Estrada-Zúñiga1, Manuel Enrique de la O-Cavazos1, Leonardo Mancillas-Adame2
1Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital "Dr. José Eleuterio González" Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Mexico.
Insights
Cord blood visfatin levels did not differ between newborns of varying birth weights. However, gestational weight gain was found to be an independent predictor of visfatin concentrations in umbilical cord blood.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Perinatal Medicine
- Metabolic Health
Background:
- Visceral adipose tissue is linked to metabolic disorders.
- Visfatin, a visceral fat adipocytokine, may play a role in metabolic health.
- Suboptimal gestational environments are associated with adult metabolic disease risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visfatin concentrations in umbilical cord blood.
- To compare visfatin levels in newborns categorized as small, appropriate, or large for gestational age.
- To explore the relationship between birth weight categories and cord blood visfatin.
Main Methods:
- Study included term newborns from a university medical center.
- Umbilical cord blood samples were collected immediately after birth.
- Visfatin was quantified using enzyme immunoassay in 35 SGA, 58 AGA, and 35 LGA infants.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in cord blood visfatin concentrations were observed among SGA, AGA, and LGA groups.
- Visfatin levels were 2.78, 3.28, and 3.46 ng/mL for SGA, AGA, and LGA newborns, respectively (p=0.141).
- Gestational weight gain (GWG) showed a negative association with visfatin levels (r=-0.218, p=0.036) and was an independent predictor (r²=-0.067, p=0.027).
Conclusions:
- Cord blood visfatin concentrations are not dependent on birth weight status (SGA, AGA, LGA).
- Gestational weight gain independently predicts visfatin levels in term newborn cord blood.
- These findings contribute to understanding fetal programming and metabolic health predictors.
Background And Objective:
Increased visceral adipose tissue mass is strongly associated to metabolic disorders. Visfatin is a visceral fat adipocytokine. There is epidemiological evidence of a link between a suboptimal gestational environment and a greater propensity to develop metabolic disease in adult life. The objective of this study was to establish whether visfatin concentrations in umbilical cord blood are different in newborns small for gestational age (SGA), appropriate for gestational age (AGA), and large for gestational age (LGA).
Subjects And Methods:
Term newborns from an university medical center were included in the study. A blood sample was taken from the umbilical cord vein of each baby immediately after birth. Visfatin was measured using an enzyme immunoassay in the study population, consisting of 35 subjects in the SGA group, 58 in the AGA group, and 35 in the LGA group.
Results:
Cord blood visfatin concentrations were not different in the three groups, with respective values of 2.78 (1.86-4.49) ng/mL, 3.28 (1.98-4.97) ng/mL, and 3.46 (2.48-5.38) ng/mL in the SGA, AGA and LGA groups (p=0.141). Gestational weight gain (GWG) (14.09±6.37kg) was negatively associated to visfatin levels (r=-0.218, p=0.036). GWG is an independent predictor of visfatin concentrations (r2=-0.067, p=0.027).
Conclusions:
There were no differences in cord blood visfatin concentrations depending on birth weight. GWG is an independent predictor of visfatin levels in the cord blood of term newborns.
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