Has the adipokine profile an influence on the catch-up growth type in small for gestational age infants?

Infants born small for gestational age (SGA) are at increased risk of perinatal morbidity, persistent short stature, and metabolic alterations in later life. Moreover, the post-natal growth pattern of SGA infants may be an important contributor to health outcomes later in life, which can be influenced by adipokines. The aims of this study were to compare plasma adipokine profiles (leptin, adiponectin, vaspin, chemerin, and nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV/CCN3)) among SGA newborns aged 3 months, with low, normal, or high catch-up, to search for potential differences between males and females and to analyze the evolution of several adipokines in plasma from SGA newborns between 3 and 24 months. This prospective, longitudinal study was addressed in SGA Caucasian subjects at Hospital Universitario de Álava-Txagorritxu. We observed that infants with fast catch-up showed significantly lower birth weight than the other two groups. As far as adipokines are concerned, they could have an influence on catch-up type because differences among the three experimental groups were found. It may be proposed that health prognoses in infants with slow and fast catch-up are opposite, not only in adulthood but also during their first months. Finally, adipokine evolution patterns during the first 24 months of age differ, depending on the adipokine, and 24-month-old males show lower levels of leptin, adiponectin, and omentin than females.