Longitudinal associations of age, anthropometric and lifestyle factors with serum total insulin-like growth factor-I and IGF binding protein-3 levels in Black and White men: the CARDIA Male Hormone Study.

Although several studies have assessed cross-sectional correlates of serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), there are no longitudinal studies of the correlates of long-term changes in these measures. We examined the 8-year longitudinal associations of age, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, physical activity, number of cigarettes smoked per day, and alcohol intake with serum total IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations in 622 Black and 796 White male participants of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study who were ages 20 to 34 years at the time of the first IGF measurement. In generalized estimating equation analyses, IGF-I decreased by 5.6 and 5.9 ng/mL per year increase in age for Black and White men, respectively (P< 0.0001), and there was an age-related decline in IGFBP-3 that was stronger in Whites (P < 0.0001) than Blacks (P = 0.21). Average IGF-I (beta = -17.51 ng/mL) and IGFBP-3 (beta = -355.4 ng/mL) levels across all three exams were lower in Blacks than Whites (P < 0.0001). Increased BMI was associated with decreased IGF-I (P < 0.0002), but was not associated with IGFBP-3. There were no meaningful associations with waist circumference. Increased physical activity was associated with a decrease in IGFBP-3 (P < 0.05), but was not associated with IGF-I. In White men, there were weak inverse associations between the number of cigarettes smoked per day with IGF-I (P=0.15) and with IGFBP-3 (P = 0.19), and in Black men, increased alcohol intake was associated with a decrease in IGF-I (P = 0.011). In conclusion, these results support an age-related decline and Black-White difference in serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels. Importantly, they suggest that IGF-I and/or IGFBP-3 levels could be influenced by changes in BMI, and perhaps by physical activity, alcohol intake, and cigarette smoking.