First born children are taller, insulin resistant and have higher blood pressure

Methods Prepubertal children aged 3–10 years, (born at full term and not SGA) were recruited and grouped by birth order. All children had height, weight, body composition by DEXA scan and fasting serum IGF-1, IGF-2, IGFBP3, lipids, leptin, adiponectin, glucose and insulin levels recorded. Children’s heights and BMI were expressed as an SDS, and corrected for mean parental height and BMI SDS. A subgroup of children underwent 24 hr ambulatory BP monitoring and a frequently sampled IVGTT to determine insulin sensitivity with the minimal model. Results are expressed as mean ±SEM.