Abstract
We test the hypothesis that differences in social status between groups of people within a population may induce variation in insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) levels and, by extension, growth in height. This is called the community effect in height hypothesis. The relationship between IGF-1, assessed via finger-prick dried blood spot, and elite level sport competition outcomes were analysed for a sample of 116 undergraduate men and women. There was a statistically significant difference between winners and losers of a competition. Winners, as a group, had higher average pre-game and post-game IGF-1 levels than losers. We proposed this type of difference as a proxy for social dominance. We found no evidence that winners increased in IGF-1 levels over losers or that members of the same team were more similar in IGF-1 levels than they were to players from other teams. These findings provide limited support toward the community effect in height hypothesis. The findings are discussed in relation to the action of the growth hormone/IGF-1 axis as a transducer of multiple bio-social influences into a coherent signal which allows the growing human to adjust and adapt to local ecological conditions.
Highlights
Human growth in height, weight and other body dimensions are widely used as indicators of well-being in environmental epidemiology and public health research [1,2,3,4,5]
We propose three specific hypotheses: (1) sport players who will win their sporting competition will have higher insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) values before the game is played–this is our proxy for social dominance; (2)
Our findings offer some support for further investigation of the community effect in height hypothesis
Summary
Weight and other body dimensions are widely used as indicators of well-being in environmental epidemiology and public health research [1,2,3,4,5]. Economic and political differences between human groups are often associated with differences in the mean heights of these groups [6,7,8,9]. Peripubertal children with idiopathic short stature treated with GH show significant increases in adult height in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials [15]. In the affluent nations of Europe, cross-sectional surveys of healthy children and adolescents [18] as well as birth cohort studies of healthy children [19] find moderate-to-strong positive associations between serum IGF-1 levels and concurrent measures of height. The authors of the birth cohort study report a positive association of serum IGF-1 at age 5 and 7 years with amount of growth in height at ages 8, 9 and 10 years
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
