A new study suggested that a birth weight of 2.5 kg or more is strongly associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes as an adult.
The findings of the study were published in the online journal ‘BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care’. Birth weight is associated with lower circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1 for short, an insulin-like hormone that affects childhood growth and energy metabolism in adults.
Strong evidence has shown that vulnerability to type 2 diabetes over the life course is confirmed by risk factors both in early life and as an adult, the researchers said.
To determine if there could be any link between adult circulating IGF-1 levels, birth weight, and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the researchers drew on data from 112,736 women and 68,354 men participating in the UK Biobank study.
Biobank UK is a large population-based study, which recruited 37 to 73-year-old participants between 2006 and 2010. It monitors the potential impact of genetic factors and lifestyle of a wide range of common diseases of middle and old age. .
At employment, participants provided social and demographic details, as well as information about their normal diet, lifestyle (smoking status, alcohol, sleep duration, and normal physical activity), early life factors (birth weight and maternal smoking), and medical history.
They also provided blood, urine, and saliva samples, and measured height, weight, body index (BMI), body circumference (thigh, hip, and limbs), and surface thickness. skin.
Blood was tested for IGF-1, cholesterol, triglycerides, and a sign of inflammation, a C-reactive protein. And repeat measures of IGF-1 were available from 17,699 participants. Information on the development of type 2 diabetes was obtained from self-report, hospital records, and death certificates.
During an average study period of nearly 10 years, 3299 people developed type 2 diabetes.
Participants with lower levels of IGF-1 tended to be older and more likely to live in a deprived area. They were also more prone to lifestyle characteristics and clinical risk for diabetes.
Nevertheless, there was a clear association between IGF-1 levels and type 2 diabetes: the lower the IGF-1 level, the higher the risk of type 2 diabetes. .
But birth weight changed this association dramatically, even only for those who weighed 2.5 kg or more at birth, and only in men.
Compared to those in the bottom 20 percent of IGF-1 levels, the incidence of type 2 diabetes was 14 percent lower for those in the bottom 20 percent, and up to 36 percent lower for those in the top 20. percent of IGF-1 levels.
The conclusions were true, regardless of genetic predisposition to birth weight.
This is a speculative study, so it cannot establish the cause. There was no information on whether the births were premature or full-time, or on ethnicity – factors that may have been influential, the researchers said.
Nevertheless, their findings are similar to the results of other epidemiological studies, they note. “Our findings highlight the importance of early life risk factors in the development of life-course prevention strategies aimed at IGF-1 and [type 2 diabetes], “they decided.
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This story was published from a wire group group with no text changes.