Does sex hormone-binding globulin cause insulin resistance during pubertal growth?

Shenglong Le; Leiting Xu; Moritz Schumann; Na Wu; Timo Törmäkangas; Markku Alén; Sulin Cheng; Petri Wiklund

doi:10.1530/EC-19-0044

Endocrine Connections (Apr 2019)

Does sex hormone-binding globulin cause insulin resistance during pubertal growth?

Shenglong Le,
Leiting Xu,
Moritz Schumann,
Na Wu,
Timo Törmäkangas,
Markku Alén,
Sulin Cheng,
Petri Wiklund

Affiliations

Shenglong Le: Exercise, Health and Technology Centre, Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
Leiting Xu: Medical School, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
Moritz Schumann: Department of Molecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany; The Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine, Ministry of Education, and Exercise Translational Medicine Center, Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Na Wu: Exercise, Health and Technology Centre, Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
Timo Törmäkangas: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
Markku Alén: Department of Medical Rehabilitation, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
Sulin Cheng: Exercise, Health and Technology Centre, Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; The Key Laboratory of Systems Biomedicine, Ministry of Education, and Exercise Translational Medicine Center, Shanghai Center for Systems Biomedicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Petri Wiklund: Exercise, Health and Technology Centre, Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK; Center for Life Course Health Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1530/EC-19-0044
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 8, no. 5
pp. 510 – 517

Abstract

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Background: The directional influences between serum sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), adiposity and insulin resistance during pubertal growth remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate bidirectional associations between SHBG and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and adiposity from childhood to early adulthood. Methods: Participants were 396 healthy girls measured at baseline (age 11.2 years) and at 1, 2, 4 and 7.5 years. Serum concentrations of estradiol, testosterone and SHBG were determined by ELISA, glucose and insulin by enzymatic photometry, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassays, whole-body fat mass by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and HOMA-IR were determined by homeostatic model assessment. The associations were examined using cross-lagged path models. Results: In a cross-lagged path model, SHBG predicted HOMA-IR before menarche β = −0.320 (95% CI: −0.552 to −0.089), P = 0.007, independent of adiposity and IGF-1. After menarche, no directional effect was found between SHBG and insulin resistance or adiposity. Conclusions: Our results suggest that in early puberty, decline in SHBG predicts development of insulin resistance, independent of adiposity. However, after menarche, no directional influences between SHBG, adiposity and insulin resistance were found, suggesting that observational associations between SHBG, adiposity and insulin resistance in pubertal children may be subject to confounding. Further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of the associations between SHBG and cardiometabolic risk markers in peripubertal children.

Published in Endocrine Connections

ISSN: 2049-3614 (Online)
Publisher: Bioscientifica
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Specialties of internal medicine: Diseases of the endocrine glands. Clinical endocrinology
Website: http://www.endocrineconnections.com/

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