Insulin-like growth factor-1 levels are associated with high comorbidity of metabolic disorders in obese subjects; a Japanese single-center, retrospective-study

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 20130 - 9
• Main Authors: Kubo, Haremaru, Sawada, Shojiro, Satoh, Michihiro, Asai, Yoichiro, Kodama, Shinjiro, Sato, Toshihiro, Tomiyama, Seitaro, Seike, Junro, Takahashi, Kei, Kaneko, Keizo, Imai, Junta, Katagiri, Hideki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 22.11.2022; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 692/163/2743/137; 692/163/2743/2037; 692/163/2743/2815; 692/163/2743/393; Adult; Comorbidity; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Japan - epidemiology; Metabolic Diseases - complications; Metabolic Diseases - epidemiology; multidisciplinary; Obesity - complications; Obesity - epidemiology; Retrospective Studies; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Japan
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23521-1

Insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) plays important roles in metabolic functions, especially in adulthood. Additionally, obese subjects are reportedly predisposed to having low absolute IGF-1 levels. However, the prevalence and clinical characteristics of obese subjects with low IGF-1 levels are unknown. We examined 64 obese subjects with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m 2 , with no history of endocrinological disorders, receiving inpatient care. IGF-1 levels were interpreted based on the IGF-1 standard deviation score (SDS) clinically used and standardized by age and sex (low IGF-1 group; ≤ − 2.0 SDS and standard IGF-1 group; − 2.0 < and <  + 2.0 SDS). Notably, 26.6% of the subjects had low IGF-1. Body fat mass and percentage, but not BMI, were significantly higher in the low than in the standard IGF-1 group. Furthermore, natural log-transformed high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and the frequencies of dyslipidemia and hyperuricemia were higher in the low IGF-1 group. Moreover, among the subjects without diabetes, fasting glucose levels were significantly higher in the low IGF-1 group. Stepwise variable selection procedure revealed body fat percentage to be a parameter most strongly associated with low IGF-1. Thus, low IGF-1 levels may be an important marker of adiposity-associated metabolic disorders in obese patients.