This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Neonate fat depots may lay foundation for adult fat distribution
SAN FRANCISCO — Fat deposition in male newborns appears to be more influenced by insulin than in females, which may explain differences in fat distribution in adult men and women, according to a presenter at the American Diabetes Association’s 74th Scientific Sessions.
“Subcutaneous fat distribution of depositions in female neonates is less associated with insulin compared with males,” Mireille van Poppel, MS, PhD, of the EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research at VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, said during her presentation. “This might be due to lower insulin sensitivity or other metabolic or endocrine factors in the girls.”
Van Poppel and colleagues conducted a study of 414 neonates (205 male, 209 female) looking at the relationships between fetal insulin and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) thickness in various body sites and the response to high insulin levels based on sex.
The researchers measured cord blood insulin levels and quantified SAT thickness at 15 body sites based on scattered light intensities returned through a lipometer. Linear regression models were used to assess fetal insulin in relation to SAT, by sex; adjustments were made for gestational age, birth weight and ponderal index. Maternal BMI was considered in the study.
Sex differences were only observed in the biceps and front chest SAT, which appeared 10% thicker in females.
SAT thickness was significantly associated with insulin at 11 sites in males; the relationship was strongest on the neck (beta=0.23; 95% CI, 0.05-0.41) and upper abdomen (beta=0.18; 95% CI, 0.01-0.35). In females, significant association between SAT thickness and insulin was seen only on the hip (beta=0.22; 95% CI, 0.04-0.38).
“It’s very tempting to speculate that the foundation of sex differences in how fat is distributed, men more on the trunk and women more on the hip and thigh, is already laid in utero.”
A correlation was observed between total SAT thickness and insulin in males (beta=0.025; 95% CI, 0.008-0.041, P=0.003) but not in females (beta=0.01; 95% CI, -0.01-0.02, P=0.46).
“Differences in the sites, how strongly they are correlated with the insulin, and whether this has any clinical relevance for their future metabolic health is something that we need to address in future studies,” van Poppel said.
Disclosures: van Poppel reports no relevant financial disclosures.
For More Information: van Poppel M. Abstract 212-OR. Presented at: American Diabetes Association’s 74th Scientific Sessions; June 13-17, 2014; San Francisco.