• Media type: E-Article
  • Title: Maternal-Fetal Interactions and Birth Order Influence Insulin Variable Number of Tandem Repeats Allele Class Associations with Head Size at Birth and Childhood Weight Gain
  • Contributor: Ong, Ken K.; Petry, Clive J.; Barratt, Bryan J.; Ring, Susan; Cordell, Heather J.; Wingate, Diane L.; Pembrey, Marcus E.; Todd, John A.; Dunger, David B.
  • imprint: American Diabetes Association, 2004
  • Published in: Diabetes
  • Language: English
  • DOI: 10.2337/diabetes.53.4.1128
  • ISSN: 0012-1797; 1939-327X
  • Keywords: Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism ; Internal Medicine
  • Origination:
  • Footnote:
  • Description: <jats:p>Polymorphism of the insulin gene (INS) variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR; class I or class III alleles) locus has been associated with adult diseases and with birth size. Therefore, this variant is a potential contributory factor to the reported fetal origins of adult disease. In the population-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood birth cohort, we have confirmed in the present study the association between the INS VNTR III/III genotype and larger head circumference at birth (odds ratio [OR] 1.92, 95% CI 1.23–3.07; P = 0.004) and identified an association with higher cord blood IGF-II levels (P = 0.05 to 0.0001). The genotype association with head circumference was influenced by maternal parity (birth order): the III/III OR for larger head circumference was stronger in second and subsequent pregnancies (OR 5.0, 95% CI 2.2–11.5; P = 0.00003) than in first pregnancies (1.2, 0.6–2.2; P = 0.8; interaction with birth order, P = 0.02). During childhood, the III/III genotype remained associated with larger head circumference (P = 0.004) and was also associated with greater BMI (P = 0.03), waist circumference (P = 0.03), and higher fasting insulin levels in girls (P = 0.02). In addition, there were interactions between INS VNTR genotype and early postnatal weight gain in determining childhood BMI (P = 0.001 for interaction), weight (P = 0.005), and waist circumference (P = 0.0005), such that in the ∼25% of children (n = 286) with rapid early postnatal weight gain, class III genotype–negative children among this group gained weight more rapidly. Our results indicate that complex prenatal and postnatal gene–maternal/fetal interactions influence size at birth and childhood risk factors for adult disease.</jats:p>
  • Access State: Open Access