[Presence of early risk markers of metabolic syndrome in prepubertal children with a history of intrauterine growth restriction].

Introduction: Studies on people with low birth weight found metabolic syndrome associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Objective: To study the presence of early risk markers of metabolic syndrome in a prepubertal population with IUGR.

Design: We studied 45 prepubertal children with a history of IUGR, without apparent disease, and 47 children in a control group. BMI, weight, height, and BMI Z score, and body fat mass were calculated. Basal glycemia, insulin, proinsulin, cortisol, serum lipids and uric acid levels were analyzed. Insulin sensitivity was calculated by QUICKI and insulin resistance by HOMA-IR.

Results: Basal insulin levels were higher in the IUGR group compared with the controls (6.6 microU/ml vs. 4.4 microU/ml; p= 0.008). Similar results were found for the basal cortisol levels (18.8 ug/dl vs. 13.1 ug/dl; p= 0.006) and uric acid (4.2 mg/dl vs. 2.7 mg/dl; p= 0.0008). QUICKI index was lower in the IUGR group (2.06 vs. 2.86, p= 0.001). The IUGR children who developed obesity presented higher levels of proinsulin (26.04 ug/dl vs. 13.3 ug/dl; p= 0.05), insulin (11 microU/ml vs. 5.5 microU/ml, p= 0.005), and HOMA-IR (2.06 vs. 0.9, p= 0.004), and lower QUICKI (1.71 vs. 2.16, p= 0.01) than in the case of the IUGR children with appropriate weight; these differences weren't observed among the control group.

Conclusions: Children with IUGR, without apparent disease, showed metabolic changes that were expressed through risk markers of metabolic syndrome in childhood.