ESPE Abstracts

Objectives and Study: Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) regulates fetal and infant growth and is influenced by nutrition during infancy. Breast fed children have lower IGF-I levels than formula fed infants and the reason is partly explained by lower levels of protein and higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in breast milk compared to formula. Environmental factors, such as nutrition, have long-lasting influences on hormone secretion and on future metabolic health. Intraabdominal adipose tissue (VAT) is known to be associated with metabolic risk factors. The aim of this study was to investigate IGF-I at 4 months of age and the association to composition of VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in children at seven years of age.

Method: Eighty-one children (39 boys, 42 girls) who participated in an ongoing Swedish birth cohort, Halland Health and Growth Study (H²G Study) were included. The children have been followed regularly since birth with anthropometry and blood sampling. At 7 years of age MRI was performed for quantifying VAT and SAT.

Results: IGF-I at 4 months of age correlated to both VAT (r=0.35, P=0.002) and SAT (r=0.35, P <0.001) at 7 years of age. When adjusting for gestational age and gender, IGF-I at 4 months of age together with weight at 4 months and maternal BMI accounted for 37% of the variation of VAT at 7 years of age (β 0.35, P=0.001, β 0.32, P=0.005, β 0.36, P < 0.001 respectively). Likewise, IGF-I at 4 months of age, gender and maternal BMI accounted for 32% of the variation of SAT at 7 years of age (β 0.33, P=0.004, β 0.28, P=0.02, β 0.35, P=0.001), when adjusted for weight at 4 months, gestational age and gender.

Conclusion: IGF-I at 4 months of age predicts VAT and SAT at 7 years of age. This indicates that early programming during the first months of life with growth factors, independently of weight, can influence body composition and possibly cardiometabolic risk later in life.