Evaluating the Indirect Effect of Infant Weight Velocity on Insulin Resistance in Young Adulthood: A Birth Cohort Study From the Philippines

The authors assessed the relation between infant weight velocity and adult insulin resistance, specifically evaluating whether adult size and body fat distribution mediated the association. Data were from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (Cebu, the Philippines), in which a birth cohort was followed to age 22 years (n=1,409; 1983-2005). Insulin resistance was measured using homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Weight velocity (g/month) from 0 to 4 months and from 0 to 24 months was assessed. The authors examined direct and total associations between early growth and adult HOMA-IR in linear regression models and used a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure to test indirect effects through adult body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) and waist circumference. Infant weight velocity was positively associated with adult BMI and waist circumference, which positively predicted HOMA-IR. There were no total or direct effects of immediate postnatal weight velocity (0-4 months) on adult HOMA-IR, although indirect effects through BMI and waist circumference were significant. Weight velocity from 0 to 24 months positively predicted HOMA-IR among males only, while indirect effects were significant in both sexes. In a relatively lean sample of young adults from a population with rising rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the authors found evidence for small indirect effects of infant weight velocity on adult insulin resistance mediated through adult BMI and waist circumference.