Cord Leptin, C-Peptide and Insulin Levels in Large for Gestational Age Newborns in Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND: Large for gestational age (LGA) infants are more prone to be obese and are at a higher risk of metabolic complications later in life. It is established that Asians have lower skeletal muscle mass and excess body fat for a given body mass index. Thus, objective of this study was to determine the relationship between leptin, insulin, C-peptide in cord blood on the birth weight of newborns and to determine whether these parameters are deviated from data already published from other populations. METHODS: Umbilical cord blood was collected from 90 newborns (male 50, gestational age 38–42 weeks) which comprise of 43 LGA and 47 appropriate for gestational age (AGA) newborns. Serum leptin, insulin and C-peptide levels were measured and anthropometric parameters of the newborn and maternal characteristics were recorded. RESULTS: Significantly higher (P < 0.001) concentrations of leptin, insulin and C-peptide levels (12.670 ± 2.345 ng/mL, 18.725 ± 0.644 µIU/mL, 9.318 ± 0.772 ng/mL) were observed in the LGA group compared to AGA group (7.108 ± 0.906 ng/mL, 13.081 ± 0.428 µIU/mL, 5.439 ± 0.192 ng/mL) and all three parameters showed positive and significant correlations with anthropometric parameters of the newborn and maternal characteristics. CONCLUSION: Although increased leptin, insulin and C-peptide levels may be involved in insulin resistance, increased adiposity and macrosomia, they were not significantly deviated from published data from other populations. Other factors may contribute to higher fat mass found in Asian populations and finding this relationship during neonatal period is useful to predict risk factors for childhood obesity.