Effects of birth size, post-natal growth and current size on insulin resistance in 9-year-old children: a prospective cohort study

The influence of pre-natal conditions on later type 2 diabetes risk factors such as insulin resistance (IR) may be mediated by post-natal growth trajectory. We aimed to investigate the association of body size at birth and 9 years with IR at 9 years. Using data from a prospective Australian cohort study, we examined the influence of body size from birth to 9 years [z-score for weight or body mass index (BMI)] on IR at 9 years (estimated by homeostasis model assessment). At age 9 years, 151 children provided a fasting blood sample. z-BMI at age 9 was positively associated with IR. Birth z-BMI was inversely associated with IR only after adjustment for z-BMI at age 9 years. This may be interpreted as an effect of accelerated growth between birth and 9 years on IR. There was a statistically significant interaction between birth and 9-year z-BMI. Results from regression models including z-BMI at all available time points (birth, 6 and 12 months, and 2, 3.5 and 9 years) indicate a possible inverse association between body size at 3.5 years and HOMA-IR at 9 years. Results were similar when the analyses were repeated with z-weight substituted for z-BMI. These results add to the body of evidence concerning the importance of growth in early life for later IR, and highlight a possible interaction between pre- and post-natal growth. The potential influence of growth at around 3.5 years for HOMA-IR at 9 years warrants further investigation.