Atherosclerosis precursors in Finnish children and adolescents. VII. Serum immunoreactive insulin

Abstract

In the Finnish Multicentre Study of the risk factors of coronary heart disease serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI) was measured in 3,486 children and adolescents aged 3-18 years. Serum IRI increased with age till the age of 15 years in both sexes. The increase in serum IRI levelled off with the progression of pubertal development. Serum IRI levels were higher in girls than in boys from the age of 6 years onwards. Comparison of serum IRI gave identical results from eastern and western parts of the country. Serum IRI correlated positively with skinfold thickness, weight, relative weight and body mass index in all age groups except the 3-year-old children.