Issue 123 Item 13 Leg Length of Infants is a Marker for Type 2 Diabetes & Insuli

New findings suggest that inadequate infant nutrition, as indicated by leg length, is an important factor in the development of type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance in later life. Researchers at the University of Bristol in Bristol, England, recruited for this cross-sectional study a group of 4,286 women (aged, 60-79 years) from 23 towns in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Total height was found to be weakly and inversely associated with diabetes. The scientists noted, however, that "this masked differences in the association with leg and trunk length."

Leg length was inversely associated with type 2 diabetes (age adjusted odds ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.73-0.90), while trunk length was not associated with type 2 diabetes (age adjusted odds ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.94-1.18).

Adjustment for potential confounding factors attenuated but did not remove the inverse association between leg length and the prevalence of diabetes.

In women without diabetes, meanwhile, leg length was inversely associated with insulin resistance, whereas trunk length was positively associated with insulin resistance. (Lawlor D, et al. Diabetologia 2002;45:1097-106.)