Normative data for insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 and their determinants in healthy adult males from india: the INDIIGo study.
Shah. Ravi R; Bansal. Dipika D; Rastogi. Pulkit P; Sachdev. Suchet S; Devi. Nagita N; Sharma. Ratti Ram RR; Sachdeva. Naresh N; Agrawal. Arun A; Das. Liza L; Chanson. Philippe P; Dutta. Pinaki P
Key Findings
- IGF‑1 levels fall by about 30 ng/mL each decade in adult males.
- IGFBP‑3 levels decline by roughly 448 ng/mL each decade.
- Higher thyroid hormone (T4) and serum albumin are linked to higher IGF‑1 and IGFBP‑3, while higher ALT, HbA1c, and lower socioeconomic status are linked to lower IGF‑1.
Practical Outcomes
- For biohackers, these data give a reference range to compare your own IGF‑1/IGFBP‑3 numbers against, especially if you’re tracking age‑related changes. The findings suggest that optimizing thyroid health, liver function, and overall protein status may help maintain higher IGF‑1 levels, while poor glucose control could lower them. Use this as a baseline for interpreting lab results and tailoring lifestyle or supplementation strategies.
Summary
The study measured normal levels of IGF‑1 and its binding protein IGFBP‑3 in over a thousand healthy Indian men aged 20‑66, showing that both hormones drop as you get older and are affected by things like thyroid hormone, liver enzymes, blood sugar, protein in the blood, and socioeconomic status.
Abstract
The INDIIGo study aimed to establish normative data for serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in adult Indian males, addressing the paucity of data for the South East Asian population. This cross-sectional study included 1271 healthy males aged 20 to 65.9 years from Chandigarh, India, with measurements obtained using the Roche Elecsys electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). Age-specific normative centile curves were generated using the LMS (Lambda, Mu, Sigma) method. Serum IGF-1 levels declined by 30.1 ng/ml per decade (95% CI - 34.9 to - 25.2; p < 0.001) and were negatively associated with lower socioeconomic status (- 5.8 ng/ml per class; p = 0.002), ALT (- 0.6 ng/ml per unit; p < 0.001), and HbA1c (- 8.2 ng/ml per category; p = 0.04). Positive correlations were observed with serum T4 (+ 4.5 ng/ml per unit; p < 0.001) and serum albumin (+ 18.0 ng/ml per g/dL; p = 0.009). IGFBP-3 levels decreased by 447.8 ng/ml per decade (95% CI - 547.6 to - 348.1; p < 0.001), with a significant positive association with serum T4 (+ 60.8 ng/ml per unit; p = 0.025). This study provides age-specific normative data for IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in Indian males and identifies key factors influencing these biomarkers.
Study Information
pubmed
2025
2025-11-21T00:00:00.000Z
10.1038/s41598-025-25235-6
37