This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
IGF-I levels, low and high, linked with CV disease in older men
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Serum insulin-like growth factor-I levels measuring either low or high could increase the risk for cardiovascular disease in older men, according to research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
“Our study showed a U-shaped association between serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in elderly men,” Daniel Carlzon, MD, PhD, of the Center for Bone and Arthritis Research at the Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Medicine, University of Gothenburg, told Endocrine Today.
Daniel Carlzon
“High serum IGF-I associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease events but not with risk of cerebrovascular events. The association between high IGF-1 and CVD events was mainly driven by increased risk of CHD events,” Carlzon said.
Carlzon and colleagues looked at 2,901 men aged 69 to 81 years who participated in the prospective population-based Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study in Sweden and had serum IGF-I measurements.
The investigators calculated CVD event data from national registers. Follow-up (mean, 5.1 years) was considered the period from baseline to CVD event, death from any cause or last data collection.
A non-linear association was observed between serum IGF-I and risk of CVD events; restricted cubic spline Cox regression analysis showed a U-shaped association between serum IGF-I levels and CVD events (P<.01 for nonlinearity).
Low and high serum IGF-I levels were both significantly associated with increased risk for CVD events (HR=1.25; 95% CI, 1.02-1.54 and 1.35, 1.10-1.66, respectively); the associations remained after adjusting for prevalent CVD and multiple risk factors.
High serum IGF-I was associated with an increased likelihood for CHD events but not cerebrovascular events.
Further studies are needed to determine mechanisms, according to the researchers, but higher risk of cardiac hypertrophy and arrhythmias could underlie the association.
“Our finding is one to be taken into consideration before starting long-term treatment that may affect serum IGF-1 levels,” Carlzon said. — by Allegra Tiver
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, The ALF/LUA research grant in Gothenburg, the Lundberg Foundation, the Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg’s Foundation, Magnus Bergvall Foundation, Åke Wiberg Foundation, Tore Nilson Foundation and the Swedish Society for Medical Research.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts