Paternal insulin resistance and its association with umbilical cord insulin concentrations

Fetal growth is influenced by genetic factors as well as the intra-uterine environment. We hypothesised that some genetic factors may alter fetal insulin secretion and insulin action. To assess this, we analysed plasma insulin concentration in umbilical cord blood from 644 normal, term, UK Caucasian deliveries from the Exeter Family Study of Childhood Health. We tested for associations between cord insulin and each of parental anthropometry, fasting glucose, insulin and lipids. As expected, cord insulin concentrations correlated with all measures of birth size (weight, length, head and arm circumferences, sum of skinfold thicknesses, ponderal index: r=0.16-0.4, p