Cord blood insulin, IGF‐I, IGF‐II, leptin, adiponectin and ghrelin, and their associations with insulin sensitivity, β‐cell function and adiposity in infancy

Abstract

Vulnerability to insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes may originate in early life, but little is known about whether any perinatal biomarkers are predictive of later metabolic health. We sought to assess whether cord blood insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, IGF-II, leptin, adiponectin and ghrelin are associated with metabolic health indicators in infancy. In a prospective singleton birth cohort, we assessed cord blood insulin, IGF-I, IGF-II, leptin, adiponectin and ghrelin concentrations in relation to the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), β-cell function (HOMA-β), fasting proinsulin-to-insulin ratio, BMIz-score, and the sum of triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness (an indicator of adiposity) in infants at age 1year (n=185). Adjusting for maternal and infant characteristics, one standard deviation (sd) increase in cord blood adiponectin was associated with an 11.1% (95% confidence interval 1.8-19.5%) decrease in HOMA-β (P=0.02) and a 13.6% (1.8-26.8%) increase in proinsulin-to-insulin ratio (P=0.02), indicating worse β-cell function in infants at age 1year. One sd increase in cord blood insulin was associated with a 0.5 (0.1-1.0)mm increase in skinfold thickness (P=0.01). One sd increase in cord blood ghrelin was associated with a 0.2 (0.02-0.3) decrease in BMIz-score (P=0.02) and a 0.5 (0.1-0.9)mm decrease (P=0.02) in skinfold thickness. Cord blood IGF-I and IGF-II were not associated with the observed metabolic health indicators at age 1year. The study is the first to show that cord blood adiponectin may be negatively predictive of β-cell function, whereas cord blood ghrelin may be negatively predictive of adiposity in infancy.