Early-life factors are associated with nocturnal cortisol and glucose effectiveness in Afro-Caribbean young adults

Thompson, D.S., Ferguson, T.S., Wilks, R.J., Phillips, D.I., Osmond, C., Samms-Vaughan, M., Forrester, T.E. and Boyne, M.S. (2015) Early-life factors are associated with nocturnal cortisol and glucose effectiveness in Afro-Caribbean young adults. Clinical Endocrinology, 82 (3), 352-358. (doi:10.1111/cen.12537). (PMID:24988876)

Abstract

CONTEXT: Early-life factors (including intrauterine growth retardation) may influence the development of type 2 diabetes. We postulated that birth size is associated with cortisol levels, which itself could alter serum adipomyokines (i.e. adiponectin, IGF-I, myostatin) and glucose metabolism.

DESIGN: An observational study with 60 Afro-Caribbean young adults from a birth cohort.

MEASUREMENTS: Fasting blood was drawn for serum adiponectin, IGF-I and myostatin. A frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test measured insulin sensitivity (SI), acute insulin response (AIRg), disposition index (DI) and glucose effectiveness (Sg). Body composition was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Salivary cortisol was collected at home at 0800 and 2300 h. Sex-adjusted correlations were used to explore the relationships between birth size, cortisol and the metabolic variables.

RESULTS: The participants were 55% male, mean age 23·1 ± 0·5 years. Birth weight correlated positively with 2300-h cortisol (P = 0·04), although not after adjusting for gestational age. Gestational age was correlated with 2300 h cortisol (r = 0·38, P = 0·03), even after adjusting for birth weight (P = 0·02). 2300 h cortisol was not associated with adiponectin, IGF-I, myostatin, SI, AIRg or DI, but was negatively correlated with Sg (r = -0·30, P = 0·05) even after adjusting for birth and adult anthropometry. Adiponectin, IGF-I and myostatin were unrelated to glucose metabolism.

CONCLUSIONS: Gestational age is associated with higher nocturnal cortisol, which in turn is associated with lower glucose effectiveness in adulthood. Higher glucose effectiveness could therefore be a compensatory mechanism to improve glucose uptake.

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Contributors

Author: C. Osmond

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