title: Prenatal and Childhood Growth, Chemerin Concentrations, and Metabolic Health in Adult Life.
abstract: Several noncommunicable diseases have their origins in early developmental phases. One factor possibly explaining the association between early growth and later health could be adipocyte function. The objective of this study was to assess the association between the adipocytokine chemerin and early growth and later health. 1074 participants from Helsinki Birth Cohort Study born 1934-1944 with information on prenatal and childhood growth participated. Metabolic outcomes include glucose tolerance, adiposity, and chemerin concentration. Mean chemerin concentrations were 5.0 ng/mL higher in women than in men (95% CI 2.7 to 7.2, p < 0.001). The strongest correlate of chemerin concentration was adult waist circumference and body fat percentage (r = 0.22, p < 0.001 and r = 0.21, p < 0.001, resp.). After adjustment for body fat percentage, chemerin concentration was 5.4 ng/mL lower in subjects with type 2 diabetes than in those with normal glucose tolerance (-0.2 to 10.9, p = 0.06). It was 3.0 ng/mL higher in those with metabolic syndrome than in those without (0.6 to 5.3, p = 0.01). No measure of early growth was associated with chemerin concentration. Our findings do not support a role for chemerin in linking early growth with later metabolic health.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, 00271 Helsinki, Finland; Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; Folkhälsan Research Centre, 00250 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Johan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedicine, Exercise Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, 70211 Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Venojärvi
authors.affiliation: MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit (University of Southampton), Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Osmond