Journal Article

Premature Birth and Later Insulin Resistance

Hofman, Paul L, Robinson, Elizabeth M, Knight, David B, Jefferies, Craig, Jackson, Wendy E, Regan, Fiona, Cutfield, Wayne S

2004

Overview

Term infants who are small for gestational age are prone to the development of insulin resistance later in life. This study measured insulin sensitivity at the age of 4 to 10 years in children who had been born prematurely. An isolated reduction in insulin sensitivity was observed in both children who had been born prematurely but were appropriate for gestational age at birth and those who had been born prematurely but were small for gestational age, suggesting that premature infants may be at high risk for the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This study measured insulin sensitivity at the age of 4 to 10 years in children who had been born prematurely. It suggests that premature infants may be at high risk for the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The intrauterine environment and early postnatal life are now generally accepted as important determinants of the risk of disease in adulthood. Low birth weight, a marker of intrauterine adversity, has consistently been associated with a variety of adult-onset diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus, essential hypertension, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, and cerebrovascular accidents. 1 – 8 Attempts to establish the cause of these associations have led to the recognition that subjects with low birth weights have an early and consistent reduction in insulin sensitivity. 9 , 10 Insulin resistance (i.e., reduced insulin sensitivity) is a well-recognized, early metabolic abnormality in the pathogenesis of these . . .

• Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
• Subject: Age / Babies / Biological and medical sciences / Birth weight / Blood Glucose - analysis / Child / Child, Preschool / Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - etiology / Female / Follow-Up Studies / Genealogy / General aspects / Glucose Tolerance Test / Humans / Infant, Low Birth Weight - physiology / Infant, Newborn / Infant, Premature - physiology / Infant, Small for Gestational Age - physiology / Insulin / Insulin Resistance / Linear Models / Male / Medical sciences / Premature birth / Risk Factors