Background: Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), which is mostly carried in blood by IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3), was associated to the glomerular filtration rate and chronic kidney disease in a multiethnic study among US adults. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether serum IGF-I or IGFBP-3 are associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in a population-based study of Caucasian adults.
Methods: Data from 4028 subjects (2048 women) aged 20 to 81 years from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) were analyzed. Total serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations were determined by chemiluminescence immunoassays and categorized into sex- and age-specific quartiles.
Results: After adjusting for age, waist circumference and type 2 diabetes mellitus, analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed inverse associations between serum IGF-I concentrations and eGFR in men as well as between serum IGFBP-3 concentrations and eGFR in men and women. Logistic regression analyses confirmed these findings and showed that high IGF-I or IGFBP-3 concentrations were associated with an increased risk of decreased eGFR (<60 mL/min/1.73 m2) in men or women. These relations became stronger when lower eGFR cut-offs were used for the analyses.
Conclusion: Our data revealed associations of increased serum IGF-I concentrations and decreased eGFR in men but not in women and an association of increased serum IGFBP-3 concentrations and decreased eGFR in both sexes.