J Korean Acad Fam Med.  2007 Feb;28(2):127-133.

Association of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein-3 (IGFBP-3) with the Metabolic Syndrome

• Kong MH
• Joo NS
• Kim KM
• Kim BT
• Kim SM
• Lee DJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) has been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The biological activity of IGF-1 is influenced by IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). We hypothesized that IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels may be associated with the metabolic syndrome which is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors.
METHODS
We assessed the circulating levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in 12,415 individuals (men 6,626, women 5,789), aged 18~81 years, who visited a hospital for regular health examination. The metabolic syndrome was defined according to the definition of the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Panel III (NCEP-ATP III).
RESULTS
The IGF-1 concentrations were positively correlated with the waist circumference and systolic blood pressure. The IGFBP-3 concentrations were positively correlated with the waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, and triglyceride, and negatively correlated with HDL cholesterol. The subjects in the lowest IGF-1 quartile had a significantly higher adjusted odds ratio (OR) of the metabolic syndrome compared with the highest IGF-1 quartile group (adjusted for age, smoking, alcohol intake, and physical activity). Conversely, the subjects in the highest IGFBP-3 quartile group had a significantly higher adjusted OR of the metabolic syndrome compared with the lowest IGFBP-3 quartile group.
CONCLUSION
The subjects with low IGF-1 level or high IGFBP-3 level showed increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome is recognized as a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that low IGF-1 or high IGFBP-3 can be considered to increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Keyword

IGF-1; IGFBP-3; metabolic syndrome

MeSH Terms

Adult
Atherosclerosis
Blood Glucose
Blood Pressure
Cardiovascular Diseases
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Education
Fasting
Female
Humans
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
Odds Ratio
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Smoke
Smoking
Triglycerides
Waist Circumference
Blood Glucose
Cholesterol
Cholesterol, HDL
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
Smoke