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The Impact of Weight on Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Levels in Short-Statured Children Treated With Growth Hormone

Keren Smuel Zilberberg1, Michal Yackobovitch-Gavan2, Ariel Tenenbaum3

  • 1The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel.

Endocrine Practice : Official Journal of the American College of Endocrinology and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
|October 24, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Weight status significantly impacts insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels in children receiving growth hormone (GH) therapy. Overweight children have higher IGF-1 levels, indicating a normal physiological response, not overtreatment.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Growth Hormone Therapy
  • Metabolic Health

Background:

  • Short stature affects children with GH deficiency or idiopathic short stature.
  • Growth hormone (GH) therapy is used to improve growth outcomes.
  • The influence of weight status on treatment response requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between weight status and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels.
  • To assess how weight influences growth outcomes in children treated with GH.
  • To determine if weight status affects GH dosing and IGF-1 response.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study of 293 children treated with GH.
  • Data collected at baseline and years 1-3 included auxological parameters, pubertal staging, GH dose, and IGF-1 levels.
  • Mixed-model analyses examined the effects of weight on height standard deviation score (Ht-SDS), IGF-1-SDS, and GH dosing.

Main Results:

  • Body mass index-SDS positively correlated with IGF-1-SDS.
  • Overweight/obese children had higher IGF-1 SD scores than normal-weight children, despite lower GH doses.
  • Both weight groups showed comparable height-SDS improvements and growth response.

Conclusions:

  • Weight status significantly influences IGF-1 levels in children receiving GH therapy.
  • Elevated IGF-1 in overweight children likely represents a normal physiological response.
  • Clinical practice should consider weight when monitoring IGF-1 levels and adjusting GH doses.
Abstract

Keywords:
GH treatmentIGF-1growth hormone deficiencyidiopathic short statureoverweight and obesity

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