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The relationship between hormonal balance and growth in malnourished children and rats
Insights
Insulin and cortisol levels in young children correlate with growth rates, with insulin showing a direct relationship and cortisol an inverse one. Their combined ratio offers a stronger predictor of growth velocity, impacting pediatric growth research.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Human growth and development
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Childhood growth is influenced by complex hormonal interactions.
- Understanding these relationships is crucial for identifying growth abnormalities.
- Previous research has explored individual hormone roles in growth.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between plasma concentrations of insulin, cortisol, and growth hormone with growth velocity in Gambian children.
- To explore the combined effect of insulin and cortisol on growth.
- To compare findings in children with an animal model.
Main Methods:
- Measurement of plasma hormone levels (insulin, cortisol, growth hormone) and growth velocities in children up to 3 years old.
- Correlation analysis to determine relationships between hormone levels and growth rates.
- Animal study involving dietary manipulation in rats to assess hormonal influences on growth.
Main Results:
- Plasma insulin concentrations positively correlated with height and weight growth velocity.
- Plasma cortisol concentrations showed an inverse correlation with growth velocity.
- The insulin:cortisol ratio demonstrated a stronger correlation with growth velocity than individual hormones.
- Growth hormone showed only marginal, negative correlations with growth.
Conclusions:
- Insulin and cortisol play significant, interrelated roles in regulating early childhood growth.
- The insulin:cortisol ratio may serve as a more sensitive indicator of growth velocity.
- Findings suggest potential mechanisms for hormonal control of growth rates in humans and animals.
Abstract:
Plasma concentrations of insulin, cortisol and growth hormone, and growth velocities have been measured in a group of Gambian village children up to 3 years of age. All three hormones showed changes in concentration with age, as did rates of growth. 2. Plasma insulin concentrations in the children were directly correlated with velocity of growth in height and weight, whereas cortisol concentrations showed inverse relationships. The values for insulin:cortisol concentration correlated more closely with growth velocity than did either hormone individually. Growth hormone values in plasma exhibited only marginal correlations with growth in height or weight, and these were negative. 3. Similar relationships between these hormones and growth were obtained from an animal experiment in which the rates of growth of rats were altered by restricting dietary intake of protein or energy or both. 4. Possible mechanisms for these observations are discussed in the light of recent knowledge concerning the hormonal control of growth rates.