Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 is lower in children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus than in a non-diabetic comparison group after adjustment for age and sex: a cross-sectional study
- 1Department of Pediatrics, The Second Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
Abstract
Introduction: Few studies have compared insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in children with type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) against a shared non-diabetic reference group.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 70 children with T1DM, 14 with T2DM, and 196 children in a non-diabetic comparison group. IGF-1, HbA1c, C-peptide, and anthropometric data were compared using nonparametric tests and multivariable regression of log-transformed IGF-1 adjusted for age and sex, with age-adjusted partial correlations for C-peptide, HbA1c, and BMI. As a supportive analysis, IGF-1 in T1DM (n = 57) and T2DM (n = 13) was converted to age- and sex-specific SDS using an external reference and tested against zero.
Results: Unadjusted IGF-1 was lowest in T1DM (145.0 ng/mL), intermediate in T2DM (232.0 ng/mL), and highest in the comparison group (276.5 ng/mL; P < 0.001), reflecting the younger age of the T1DM group. After adjustment, IGF-1 was lower in T1DM (−41.8%, P < 0.001) and T2DM (−39.4%, P = 0.003) than in the comparison group. No significant difference between T1DM and T2DM was detected (P = 0.83), but the 95% confidence interval was wide (−31.3% to +55.9%) because only 14 children had T2DM. Externally referenced SDS was significantly below zero in T1DM (P = 0.009) but not in T2DM (P = 0.33). C-peptide, near-absent in T1DM and preserved in T2DM, was not correlated with IGF-1 in either group.
Discussion: These exploratory findings show lower age- and sex-adjusted IGF-1 in both diabetes subtypes, leave open whether the reduction differs between them, and warrant prospective studies including pubertal staging and GH-axis measurements.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026serum,
title = {{Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 is lower in children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus than in a non-diabetic comparison group after adjustment for age and sex: a cross-sectional study}},
author = {Yuxia Zhang and Dingding Wang and Wei Song},
journal = {Frontiers in Pediatrics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fped.2026.1948533},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2026.1948533},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Serum insulin-like growth factor-1 is lower in children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus than in a non-diabetic comparison group after adjustment for age and sex: a cross-sectional study
AU - Yuxia Zhang
AU - Dingding Wang
AU - Wei Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Frontiers in Pediatrics
DO - 10.3389/fped.2026.1948533
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2026.1948533
AB - Introduction: Few studies have compared insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in children with type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) against a shared non-diabetic reference group. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from 70 children with T1DM, 14 with T2DM, and 196 children in a non-diabetic comparison group. IGF-1, HbA1c, C-peptide, and anthropometric data were compared using nonparametric tests and multivariable regression of log-transformed IGF-1 adjusted for age and sex, with age-adjusted partial correlations for C-peptide, HbA1c, and BMI. As a supportive analysis, IGF-1 in T1DM (n = 57) and T2DM (n = 13) was converted to age- and sex-specific SDS using an external reference and tested against zero. Results: Unadjusted IGF-1 was lowest in T1DM (145.0 ng/mL), intermediate in T2DM (232.0 ng/mL), and highest in the comparison group (276.5 ng/mL; P < 0.001), reflecting the younger age of the T1DM group. After adjustment, IGF-1 was lower in T1DM (−41.8%, P < 0.001) and T2DM (−39.4%, P = 0.003) than in the comparison group. No significant difference between T1DM and T2DM was detected (P = 0.83), but the 95% confidence interval was wide (−31.3% to +55.9%) because only 14 children had T2DM. Externally referenced SDS was significantly below zero in T1DM (P = 0.009) but not in T2DM (P = 0.33). C-peptide, near-absent in T1DM and preserved in T2DM, was not correlated with IGF-1 in either group. Discussion: These exploratory findings show lower age- and sex-adjusted IGF-1 in both diabetes subtypes, leave open whether the reduction differs between them, and warrant prospective studies including pubertal staging and GH-axis measurements.
SN - 2296-2360
ER -