Insulin resistance in short children with intrauterine growth retardation.

Scientific evidence is accumulating for an association between intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and an increased risk of developing adult degenerative diseases, such as essential hypertension, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and ischaemic heart disease. A possible underlying mechanism for these conditions is insulin resistance. In this paper, mechanisms and methods of measurement of insulin resistance are briefly reviewed, and recent studies on the evaluation of insulin resistance in short children with IUGR are summarized. In our experience, short prepubertal children with IUGR show consistent insulin resistance, which becomes particularly evident during pubertal development.