Body Size in Early Life and Adult Levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 and Insulin-like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3

Abstract

Body size in early life has been associated with breast cancer risk. This may be partly mediated through the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway. The authors assessed whether birth weight, body fatness at ages 5 and 10 years, and body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m)²) at age 18 years were associated with plasma concentrations of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 in 6,520 women aged 32–70 years at blood draw from the Nurses’ Health Study (1990–2006) and Nurses’ Health Study II (1997–2005). Birth weight, body fatness in childhood, and BMI at age 18 years were inversely associated with adult IGF-1 levels. For example, IGF-1 levels were 11.9% lower in women who reported being heaviest at age 10 years than in those who were leanest at age 10 (P-trend < 0.0001). Further, women who reported their birth weight as ≥10 pounds (≥4.5 kg) (vs. P-trend = 0.002). Women whose BMI at age 18 years was ≥30 (vs. P-trend < 0.0001). Similar inverse associations were observed for insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3. These observations did not vary by adult BMI or menopausal status at blood draw. These findings suggest that altered IGF-1 levels in adulthood may be a mechanism through which early-life body size influences subsequent breast cancer risk.