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IGF-axis proteins varied risk for type 2 diabetes in women
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Substantial evidence suggests that women’s risk for type 2 diabetes may vary according to the presence of different insulin-like growth factor-axis proteins, according to data from a case-control study.
“To our knowledge, this is the first large prospective study to assess multiple components of the IGF-axis and their associations with risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Free IGF-I and IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 each had significant independent associations with diabetes risk,” the researchers wrote.
Swapril N. Rajpathak, MBBS, of the department of epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York, and colleagues designed a large prospective, nested case-control study to examine the relationship between total IGF-I, free (unbound) IGF-I, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 and risk for type 2 diabetes.
Researchers examined blood samples taken from 742 women who later developed type 2 diabetes and from a similar number who did not. All women were participants in the Nurses’ Health Study. Median time between blood sample collection and diabetes onset was 9 years.
Data from the study showed that the risk for diabetes was fivefold lower in women who had baseline IGFBP-2 levels in the top vs. bottom quintile (OR=0.17; 95% CI, 0.08-0.35), researchers wrote. Additionally, high levels of IGFBP-1 were associated with a threefold decrease in risk for type 2 diabetes (OR=0.37; 95% CI, 0.18-0.73). However, they found a positive association between IGFBP-3 and diabetes (OR=2.05; 95% CI, 1.2-3.51). Risk for diabetes was also related to free IGF-I (unbound), but this association varied by insulin levels above the median (OR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.26-0.9) vs. below the median (OR=2.52; 95% CI, 1.0-6.06). Results revealed no correlation between total IGF-I levels and diabetes.
Despite strong evidence linking IGF-axis proteins to risk for type 2 diabetes, researchers concluded that the findings are not yet applicable to clinical practice. Additional studies are needed before recommendation for testing can begin, they wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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