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Updated: Dec 16, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Birth anthropometry and cord blood leptin in Korean appropriate-for-gestational-age infants born at ≥ 28 weeks'
Seok Jin Kang1, Jin Gon Bae2, Shin Kim3
1Department of Pediatrics, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu, South Korea.
Insights
Third-trimester leptin levels in cord blood are linked to fetal growth, including birth weight and length. This finding highlights leptin's role in fetal development, particularly in preterm and term infants.
Area of Science:
- Perinatology
- Endocrinology
- Human Growth and Development
Background:
- Fetal growth is influenced by various factors, including hormones.
- Leptin and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) are key hormones in metabolic regulation and growth.
- Understanding the role of third-trimester hormones in fetal development is crucial for identifying potential growth abnormalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between third-trimester leptin levels and fetal growth parameters.
- To compare the role of leptin with IGF-1 in fetal growth.
- To determine if cord blood leptin is an independent predictor of fetal growth.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 105 appropriate-for-gestational-age infants born at or after 28 weeks' gestation was studied.
- Cord blood samples were collected at delivery to measure leptin and IGF-1 levels.
- Infants were categorized into very preterm, late preterm, and term groups; birth measurements (weight, length, head circumference, BMI) were recorded.
Main Results:
- Infant birth measurements and cord blood leptin and IGF-1 levels increased with gestational age.
- Leptin levels showed an independent association with birth weight and birth length after adjusting for multiple confounding factors.
- These associations were observed even after accounting for cord blood IGF-1 levels.
Conclusions:
- Cord serum leptin levels during the third trimester are independently associated with fetal growth.
- Leptin appears to be a significant factor influencing fetal growth, alongside IGF-1.
- The findings underscore the importance of leptin in regulating fetal development in the latter stages of pregnancy.
Background:
We investigated whether leptin during the third trimester was associated with fetal growth compared to IGF-1.
Methods:
One hundred five appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants born at ≥28 weeks' gestation were enrolled. Cord blood leptin and insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) were collected simultaneously during delivery. Enrolled infants were stratified into three groups according to GA as follows: 28 to < 34 weeks' gestation, very preterm (VP); 34 to < 37 weeks' gestation, late preterm (LP); and 37 to < 41 weeks' gestation, term. Birth weight (BW), birth length (BL), head circumference (HC), and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Leptin and IGF-1 were logarithmically transformed to normalize their distributions in multivariable regression analysis.
Results:
Sixty-eight infants out of 105 infants were preterm (32.5 ± 2.5 weeks), and 37 infants were term (37.8 ± 1.2 weeks). BW, BL, HC, and BMI were higher with increasing gestational age among the three gestational age-specific groups. With regard to hormones, leptin and IGF-1 were higher with increasing gestational age. Log cord serum leptin was independently associated with BW and BL in multivariable linear regression analysis, after adjustment for confounding factors including gestational age, delivery mode, multiple pregnancy, pregnancy induced hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, infant's BMI, and log cord blood IGF-1 levels.
Conclusions:
During the third trimester, cord serum leptin was independently associated with fetal growth.
