title: Cord blood triglycerides are associated with IGF-I levels and contribute to the identification of growth-restricted neonates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate whether readily available laboratory tests may aid in the identification of growth-restricted neonates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cord serum levels of 15 chemical analytes, including insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) were measured in newborns ≥36 weeks gestational age (GA). Based on the number of anthropometric indices (out of four) with values ≤25th centile for GA, the babies were allocated into three groups, i.e., Group(25)0, Group(25)1 and Group(25)2 corresponding to neonates with 0, 1 and 2 or more indices, respectively, that were ≤25th centile for GA. Furthermore, two composite variables were developed: A25 (Group(25)0 and Group(25)1) and B25 (Group(25)0 and Group(25)2). The data were evaluated by the Mann-Whitney test and multiple regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cord serum triglycerides and total cholesterol levels were significantly higher in Group(25)2 compared to Group(25)0 (p values 0.004 and 0.0009, respectively). The triglycerides almost doubled the power of the variable B25 for predicting IGF-I levels and were found to have a highly significant, negative association with the IGF-I levels (p<0.0001). The IGF-I along with the IGFBP-3 levels explained almost one third of the variation of triglycerides.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cord serum triglycerides can assist in the identification of growth-restricted neonates. The novel finding of the association of triglycerides with IGF-I calls for further research as this can illuminate unknown aspects of the fetal lipid metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neonatology, General and Maternity Hospital, Elena Venizelou, Athens, Greece. posifi@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Popi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sifianou
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zisis
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D001724:Birth Weight; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C515497:IGFBP3 protein, human; D018972:Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3; D014280:Triglycerides; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D002784:Cholesterol