Low Serum IGF-1 in Boys with Recent Onset of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

J Immunol Res. 2018 Nov 28:2018:3856897. doi: 10.1155/2018/3856897. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Background: Liver-derived insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) contributes bone formation. Decreased IGF-1 levels are common in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), but whether IGF-1 is related to sex and differ during the pathogenic progress of JIA is unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine IGF-1 levels in boys and girls with newly diagnosed JIA, with established JIA and in controls.

Methods: The study group included 131 patients from the Estonian population-based prevalence JIA study. Blood samples were obtained from 27 boys and 38 girls with early JIA (≤1 month from the diagnosis), 29 boys and 36 girls with established JIA (mean disease duration 18 months), and from 47 age- and sex-matched controls.

Results: IGF-1 levels in boys were significantly decreased in early JIA compared to male controls, while IGF-1 levels in girls were comparable between JIA and controls. In early JIA, IGF-1 levels were 12-fold lower in boys relative to girls. In controls, IGF-1 levels correlated with both age and height, while these correlations were lost in boys with early JIA.

Conclusion: We report a sex-dependent deficiency in serum IGF-1 in boys with early JIA, which argues for sex-related differences in biological mechanisms involved in the disease pathogenesis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Age of Onset
  • Arthritis, Juvenile / epidemiology
  • Arthritis, Juvenile / metabolism*
  • Blood Proteins / metabolism*
  • Child
  • Estonia / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Population Groups*
  • Prevalence
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Factors*

Substances

  • Blood Proteins
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I