Aims/hypothesis: Smallness for gestational age (SGA) is associated with increased risk of developing components of the metabolic syndrome. Although SGA can imply intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), more information is required to link specific fetal growth patterns to adult outcomes.
Methods: We examined the impact of fetal growth velocity during the third trimester (FGV) vs birthweight for gestational age on early markers of the metabolic syndrome in 123 healthy men and women (mean age 17.5 years) born at term. FGV was determined by ultrasound measurements.
Results: After correction for confounders including current BMI, SGA was significantly associated with raised basal plasma insulin (+19% above appropriate for gestational age), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (+21%), cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol ratio (+13%) and systolic BP (+4.8%) (all p < 0.05). Furthermore SGA was associated with increased fat mass (+9.6%) and trunk-fat per cent (+6.8%) and with reduced lean body mass as determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans (-4.1% below appropriate for gestational age) (all p < 0.05). In contrast, IUGR in the third trimester was associated only with an elevated cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol ratio (+11% above not-IUGR).
Conclusions/interpretation: In the present study, FGV did not explain the impact of birthweight upon the metabolic phenotype in adolescence. This suggests that fetal growth prior to the third trimester or postnatal catch-up growth plays a more important role.