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  • Original Article
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Maternal nutrition, infants and children

Is a child’s growth pattern early in life related to serum adipokines at the age of 10 years?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 68, pages 25–31 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/objectives:

Growth parameters during infancy and early childhood might predict adipokine levels later in life. This study investigates the association between peak growth velocities, body mass index (BMI) and age at adiposity rebound (AR), with leptin and adiponectin levels at age 10 years.

subjects/Methods:

Peak height (PHV) and weight (PWV) velocities were calculated from height and weight measurements obtained between birth and age 2 years from 2880 children participating in the GINIplus (German Infant Nutritional Intervention plus environmental and genetic influences on allergy development) and LISAplus (Influences of Lifestyle-Related Factors on the Immune System and the Development of Allergies in Childhood plus Air Pollution and Genetics) birth cohorts. BMI and age at AR were calculated using BMI measurements between age 1.5 and 12 years. Blood samples were collected during a physical examination at age 10. Adiponectin and leptin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. Linear regression models were fitted after adjustment for potential confounding factors and results are presented per interquartile range increase in the exposure.

Results:

Age at AR was negatively associated with leptin in males and females (percent difference β*: −41.71%; 95% confidence interval: (−44.34;−38.96) and β*: −43.22%; (−45.59; −40.75), respectively). For both males and females PWV (β*: 14.23%; (7.60; 21.26) and β*: 18.54%; (10.76; 26.87), respectively) and BMI at AR (β*: 63.08%; (55.04; 71.53) and β*: 67.02%; (59.30; 75.10), respectively) were positively associated with leptin levels. PHV showed a positive effect on leptin in females only (β*: 10.75%; (3.73; 18.25)). Growth parameters were not significantly associated with adiponectin except for age at AR among females (β: 0.75 ng/ml; (0.42; 1.09)) and PWV among males (β: 0.45 ng/ml; (0.11; 0.79)).

Conclusion:

Growth patterns in early life may be associated with leptin levels at age 10 years.

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Acknowledgements

The GINIplus study was funded by Helmholtz Zentrum München and grants of the Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology 292 (Grant No. 01 EE 9401-4), the 6 and 10 years follow-up of the GINIplus study was partly funded by the Federal Ministry of Environment (IUF, FKZ 20462296). This study was supported by Ludwig Maximilians University’s innovative research priority project MC Health (subproject I). The LISAplus study was funded by Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich Center of Health (MC Health) and partly by grants of the Federal Ministry of Environment (BMU) (for IUF, 298 FKZ 20462296) and Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology (No. 01 EG 9705/2 and 01 EG 9732). This work was supported by the Kompetenznetzwerk Adipositas (Competence Network Obesity) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FKZ 01GI1121A). We thank Elaine Fuertes for editing the manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. C Flexeder, E Thiering, J Kratzsch, C Klümper, B Koletzko, M J Müller, S Koletzko and J Heinrich: See appendix.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Neuherberg, Germany

    C Flexeder, E Thiering & J Heinrich

  2. University Hospital Leipzig, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Leipzig, Germany

    J Kratzsch

  3. IUF–Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany

    C Klümper

  4. Dr von Hauner Children’s Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    B Koletzko & S Koletzko

  5. Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Germany

    M J Müller

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for the GINIplus and LISAplus Study Group

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Correspondence to J Heinrich.

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Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on European Journal of Clinical Nutrition website

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Appendices

Appendix: GINIplus Study Group

Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Munich (Heinrich J, Wichmann HE, Sausenthaler S, Zutavern A, Chen CM, Schnappinger M and Rzehak P); Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital, Wesel (Berdel D, von Berg A, Beckmann C and Gross I); Department of Pediatrics, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich (Koletzko S, Reinhardt D and Krauss-Etschmann S); Department of Pediatrics, Technical University, Munich (Bauer CP, Brockow I, Grübl A and Hoffmann U); IUF–Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf (Krämer U, Link E and Cramer C); Center for Allergy and Environment, Technical University, Munich (Behrendt H).

LISAplus Study Group

Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology I, Munich (Heinrich J, Wichmann HE, Sausenthaler S, Chen CM and Schnappinger M); Department of Pediatrics, Municipal Hospital ‘St Georg’, Leipzig (Borte M and Diez U); Marien-Hospital Wesel, Department of Pediatrics, Wesel (von Berg A, Beckmann C and Gross I); Pediatric Practice, Bad Honnef (Schaaf B); Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research–UFZ, Department of Environmental Immunology/Core Facility Studies, Leipzig (Lehmann I, Bauer M, Gräbsch C, Röder S and Schilde M); University of Leipzig, Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine, Leipzig (Herbarth O, Dick C and Magnus J); IUF–Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf (Krämer U, Link E and Cramer C); Technical University Munich, Department of Pediatrics, Munich (Bauer CP and Hoffmann U); ZAUM–Center for Allergy and Environment, Technical University, Munich (Behrendt H, Grosch J and Martin F).

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Flexeder, C., Thiering, E., Kratzsch, J. et al. Is a child’s growth pattern early in life related to serum adipokines at the age of 10 years?. Eur J Clin Nutr 68, 25–31 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.213

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