Insulin resistance and its association with catch‐up growth in Chinese children born small for gestational age

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 172 - 177
• Main Authors: Liu, Chunhua, Wu, Baiyan, Lin, Niyang, Fang, Xiaoyi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Age; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Birth weight; Blood Glucose - metabolism; Body Composition; Body Height; Body mass index; Body Weight; Case-Control Studies; Child, Preschool; China; Congenital diseases; Diabetes; Families & family life; Female; Gestational Age; Health risk assessment; Homeostasis; Humans; Hypotheses; Infant; Infant, Small for Gestational Age - growth & development; Insulin; Insulin - blood; Insulin Resistance; Male; Metabolism; Obesity; Population; Studies
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X
• DOI: 10.1002/oby.21683

Objective To assess insulin resistance and β‐cell function from birth to age 4 years and to examine their associations with catch‐up growth (CUG) in Chinese small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA) children. Methods Weight and height were measured yearly from birth to age 4 years, and transformed into age‐ and gender‐adjusted SD scores. Fasting serum insulin and glucose were measured, and fasting insulin resistance and β‐cell function were estimated using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). Results The mean HOMA‐IR of the SGA group was significantly lower than that of the appropriate‐for‐gestational‐age (AGA) group at ages 2 and 3 years old, and the mean HOMA% of the SGA group was significantly lower than that of the AGA group at age 4 years old. At 4 years of age, HOMA for insulin resistance was positively correlated with the height gain and SD of height gain between 0 and 5 months, and HOMA% was positively correlated with the weight gain and SD of weight gain between 6 and 12 months in SGA children. Conclusions SGA children with CUG show a greater propensity to develop insulin resistance than AGA children between ages 2 and 4 years old. HOMA parameters are related to CUG in the first year of life.