title: The sequence of prenatal growth restraint and post-natal catch-up growth leads to a thicker intima-media and more pre-peritoneal and hepatic fat by age 3-6 years.
abstract: Infants born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) who develop post-natal weight catch-up are at risk for insulin resistance, central adiposity and cardiovascular disease in later life, even in the absence of overweight.
  
  
  
  In young (age 3-6 years) non-obese SGA children, we assessed arterial health (as judged by intima-media thickness [IMT]) and abdominal fat distribution (subcutaneous, visceral, preperitoneal and hepatic components by magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and/or ultrasound [US]) besides a selection of endocrine markers.
  
  
  
  Comparisons of measures in SGA (n = 27) vs. appropriate-for-GA (AGA) children (n = 19) of similar height, weight and body mass index. Longitudinal outcomes (age 3-6 years) were carotid IMT (cIMT); fasting glucose, circulating insulin, IGF-I and high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin; abdominal fat partitioning by US. Cross-sectional outcomes (age 6 years) were aortic IMT (aIMT) and abdominal fat partitioning by MRI.
  
  
  
  At 3 and 6 years, cIMT and IGF-I results were higher and HMW adiponectin lower in SGA than AGA children; at 6 years, SGA subjects had also a thicker aIMT and more pre-peritoneal and hepatic fat, and were less insulin sensitive (all P values between <0.05 and <0.0001). cIMT correlated positively with pre-peritoneal fat, particularly at 6 years. Post-SGA status and weight gain in early childhood (between 3 and 6 years) were independent predictors of cIMT at 6 years, explaining 48 % of its variance.
  
  
  
  SGA children aged 3-6 years were found to have a thicker intima- media and more pre-peritoneal and hepatic fat than AGA children of comparable size.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sebastiani
authors.affiliation: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital, Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bassols
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Estudio de Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas a Resistencia a la Insulina (GEMMAIR), Department of Medicine and Surgery, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Aragonés
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital, Girona, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Bermejo
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Endocrinology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Zegher
authors.affiliation: Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.|Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ibáñez
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose; D015992:Body Mass Index; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D052242:Adiponectin; D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
keywords: Insulin resistance; SGA; intima-media thickness; intra-hepatic fat