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Catch-up growth in body mass index is associated neither with reduced insulin sensitivity nor with altered lipid profile in children born small for gestational age

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Abstract

Objective: Low birth weight is a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Persons who have coronary events as adults tend to have been small at birth and thin at 2 yr of age, after which they tended to increase their body mass index (BMI). Our aim was to determine whether BMI gain is associated to alterations in insulin sensitivity and/or lipid profile in children born small for gestational age (SGA). Design: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: We studied 78 children (mean age 7.8±2.5 yr): 26 SGA children with catch-up growth in BMI (CGB-SGA) (BMI= 10th to 75th centile), 26 SGA without catch-up growth (NCGB-SGA) (BMI<10th centile), and 26 appropriate for gestational age (AGA) control children (BMI: 10th to 75th centile). For each CGB-SGA child, we selected an NCGB-SGA and an AGA child of the same gender, age (with-in 1 yr), and pubertal status. SGA children were also subdivided into 2 groups according to post-natal catch-up growth in height (CGH). Results: Glucose was significantly lower in NCGBSGA than AGA group (p=0.02). No significant differences in fasting insulin, fasting glucose/insulin ratio, homeostasis model assessment, quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index, and lipid profile were found among the 3 groups. HDL-cholesterol proved significantly reduced in SGA children with post-natal CGH (p=0.02). Conclusions: Our findings do not support the hypothesis of early alterations in insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism in CGB-SGA subjects during childhood provided that BMI remains within the normal range. Finally, the finding of reduced HDL-cholesterol levels in CGH-SGA children suggests detrimental metabolic effects of the height gain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. “Rina Balducci” Center of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Public Health and Cell Biology, Tor Vergata University, Rome, Italy

    P. Torre, C. Ladaki, G. Scirè, G. L. Spadoni & S. Cianfarani MD

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  1. P. Torre
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  2. C. Ladaki
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  3. G. Scirè
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  4. G. L. Spadoni
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  5. S. Cianfarani MD
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Correspondence to S. Cianfarani MD.

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Torre, P., Ladaki, C., Scirè, G. et al. Catch-up growth in body mass index is associated neither with reduced insulin sensitivity nor with altered lipid profile in children born small for gestational age. J Endocrinol Invest 31, 760–764 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03349254

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