Insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 are related to cardiovascular disease biomarkers in obese adolescents

Context: Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-1 have been linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and pathophysiology in adults, but there are limited data in youth.

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between IGF and IGFBP-1 with traditional and non-traditional CVD risk factors including inflammatory markers and body composition in an obese pediatric cohort.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: The study was carried out at a university children's hospital.

Subjects: Sixty-one obese non-diabetic adolescents.

Outcomes: Fasting IGF-I, IGFBP-1, lipoprotein profiles, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and total adiponectin as well as insulin sensitivity measures, blood pressure (BP), and anthropometrics.

Results: IGFBP-1 was negatively associated with insulin sensitivity measures, body mass index (BMI), and diastolic BP in males. IGF-I was negatively associated with hsCRP (r = -0.479, p < 0.0005), and IGFBP-1 was positively associated with adiponectin (r = 0.545, p < 0.0005). The IGF-I/CRP and IGFBP-1/adiponectin associations remained significant when controlling for both BMI and insulin sensitivity index (SI ). Both IGF-I and IGFBP-1 were negatively associated with waist circumference (r = -0.327 and r = -0.275, respectively) and sagittal abdominal diameter (r = -0.333 and r = -0.371, respectively), while IGFBP-1 was negatively associated with fat mass (r = -0.347, p = 0.01) as well as neck circumference and fat-free mass in males. Controlling for BMI z-score and SI , IGFBP-1 remained negatively associated with diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.706, p = 0.001 and neck circumference (r = -0.548, p = 0.15) in males.

Conclusions: IGF-I and IGFBP-1 associate with CVD risk markers and may add to clinical assessments of cardiometabolic dysfunction in youth.