Original Research
Obesity Research (2003) 11, 709–721; doi: 10.1038/oby.2003.101
Fasting Plasma Insulin Modulates Lipid Levels and Particle Sizes in 2- to 3-Year-Old Children
Steven Shea*,†, Eve Aymong*, Patricia Zybert‡, Lars Berglund§, Harry Shamoon¶, Richard J. Deckelbaum
and Charles E. Basch‡
- *Division of General Medicine
- §Division of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, New York
- †Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health,
- ‡Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College
- Institute of Human Nutrition and Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York
- ¶Diabetes Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
Correspondence: Steven Shea, Division of General Medicine, PH 9 East Room 105, 622 W. 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032. E-mail: ss35@columbia.edu
Received 4 December 2002; Revised 0000; Accepted 27 March 2003.
Abstract
Objective: Obesity and hyperinsulinemia are associated with dyslipidemia in adults and older children, but little is known about these relationships in very young children. We examined the relation of fasting insulin to lipid levels and lipid particle size in young healthy children.
Research Methods and Procedures: Analyses were performed on data from 491 healthy 2- and 3-year old Hispanic children enrolled in a dietary study conducted in New York City, 1992–1995. Obesity measures included BMI, ponderal index, skinfold thickness, and waist circumference. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)- and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol particle size were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance.
Results: Fasting insulin level was positively correlated with triglyceride levels (r = 0.24 for boys and r = 0.23 for girls; p < 0.001 for both) and inversely correlated with HDL-cholesterol level in boys (r = -0.20; p < 0.01). Higher fasting insulin level was also correlated with smaller mean HDL particle size in both boys (r = -0.21; p < 0.001) and girls (r = -0.14; p < 0.05) and smaller mean LDL particle size in boys (r = -0.13; p < 0.05). The associations of fasting insulin level with triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol levels and HDL and LDL particle size remained significant after multivariate regression adjustment for age, sex, and BMI or ponderal index.
Discussion: Fasting insulin level is associated with relative dyslipidemia in healthy 2- and 3-year-old Hispanic children.
