Progression of cardio-metabolic risk factors in subjects born small and large for gestational age.

BACKGROUND:Subjects born small (SGA) and large (LGA) for gestational age have an increased risk of cardio-metabolic alterations already during prepuberty. Nevertheless, the progression of their cardio-metabolic profile from childhood to adolescence has not been fully explored. Our aim was to assess potential changes in the cardio-metabolic profile from childhood to adolescence in subjects born SGA and LGA compared to those born appropriate (AGA) for gestational age. METHODS:This longitudinal study included 35 AGA, 24 SGA and 31 LGA subjects evaluated during childhood (mean age (± SD) 8.4 ± 1.4 yr) and then re-assessed during adolescence (mean age 13.3 ± 1.8 yr). BMI, blood pressure, insulin resistance (fasting insulin, HOMA-IR) and lipids were assessed. A cardio-metabolic risk z-score was applied and this consisted in calculating the sum of sex-specific z-scores for BMI, blood pressure, HOMA-IR, triglycerides and triglycerides:high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio. RESULTS:Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR were higher in SGA and LGA than AGA subjects both during childhood (all P