Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 and Morbidities of Prematurity: Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Retinopathy of Prematurity, Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Necrotizing Enterocolitis

INTRODUCTION: Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is important for fetal and postnatal development. After premature births, serum IGF-1 concentrations rapidly decrease and can stay at much lower levels than during the intrauterine period. In this study, we aimed to ascertain whether IGF-1 is associated with morbidities of prematurity such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and is a useful predictor of these diseases. METHODS: We enrolled newborn infants born at a postmenstrual age of ≤32 weeks in this prospective observational cohort study. Serum IGF-1 levels were measured serially in blood samples on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, 21st, and 28th day. RESULTS: A total of 93 infants were enrolled in the study. All these infants had the following characteristics at birth: weight 1236.11±354.06 g, and gestational age 29.43±2.10 weeks. All of the IGF-1 levels were significantly lower in the group which developed BPD or ROP (p<0.001). The patients who developed IVH and NEC also had lower IGF-1 levels. DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION: Strong correlations have been found between low serum IGF-1 levels during the first four weeks and development of BPD and ROP