Gale C, Logan K M, Jeffries S, Parkinson J R C, Santhakumaran S, Uthaya S, Durighel G, Alavi A, Thomas E L, Bell J D, Modi N
Section of Neonatal Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Campus, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Robert Steiner MRI Unit, Hammersmith Campus, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2015 Apr;39(4):629-32. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2015.4. Epub 2015 Jan 23.
Sexual dimorphism in adiposity is well described in adults, but the age at which differences first manifest is uncertain. Using a prospective cohort, we describe longitudinal changes in directly measured adiposity and intrahepatocellular lipid (IHCL) in relation to sex in healthy term infants. At median ages of 13 and 63 days, infants underwent quantification of adipose tissue depots by whole-body magnetic resonance imaging and measurement of IHCL by in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Longitudinal data were obtained from 70 infants (40 boys and 30 girls). In the neonatal period girls are more adipose in relation to body size than boys. At follow-up (median age 63 days), girls remained significantly more adipose. The greater relative adiposity that characterises girls is explained by more subcutaneous adipose tissue and this becomes increasingly apparent by follow-up. No significant sex differences were seen in IHCL. Sex-specific differences in infant adipose tissue distribution are in keeping with those described in later life, and suggest that sexual dimorphism in adiposity is established in early infancy.
肥胖的性别差异在成年人中已有充分描述，但差异首次显现的年龄尚不确定。我们利用一个前瞻性队列，描述了健康足月儿直接测量的肥胖程度和肝细胞内脂质（IHCL）与性别的纵向变化关系。在13天和63天的中位年龄时，婴儿通过全身磁共振成像对脂肪组织库进行定量，并通过体内质子磁共振波谱测量IHCL。纵向数据来自70名婴儿（40名男孩和30名女孩）。在新生儿期，女孩相对于体型比男孩更肥胖。在随访时（中位年龄63天），女孩的肥胖程度仍然显著更高。女孩特有的相对较高肥胖程度是由更多的皮下脂肪组织导致的，并且在随访过程中这一点变得越来越明显。在IHCL方面未观察到显著的性别差异。婴儿脂肪组织分布的性别特异性差异与成年后描述的差异一致，表明肥胖的性别差异在婴儿早期就已确立。
