{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T08:10:26Z","timestamp":1784275826211,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770940800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology","award":["2751\/P01\/2007\/32"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2751\/P01\/2007\/32"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Ghrelin is a regulator of appetite and growth hormone secretion, rising during fasting and decreasing after food intake. Children born small for gestational age (SGA) who undergo postnatal catch-up growth are at increased risk of obesity and metabolic disturbances, which may be related to impaired ghrelin regulation. This study assessed fasting and post-glucose ghrelin responses during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in prepubertal SGA children in relation to obesity and metabolic syndrome components. Ninety-eight children aged 5\u20139 years were included. Anthropometry, blood pressure, fasting lipids, glucose, insulin, and ghrelin were measured; BMI SDS and HOMA-IR were calculated. Ghrelin concentrations were assessed at baseline and 120 min after glucose ingestion. Ghrelin levels declined significantly during OGTT. Obese SGA children showed lower fasting and post-load ghrelin levels and a smaller decline compared with non-obese peers. Fasting and post-load ghrelin correlated inversely with BMI SDS, waist circumference, and insulin levels. In regression analyses, fasting ghrelin and its suppression were independently associated with HOMA-IR, whereas post-load ghrelin was determined by post-load insulin. These findings indicate that ghrelin dynamics in SGA children are more closely related to insulin sensitivity than adiposity and are blunted in the presence of obesity.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27041791","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T09:09:19Z","timestamp":1770973759000},"page":"1791","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Effect of Oral Glucose Administration on Ghrelin Levels in Normal-Height Prepubertal Children Born Small for Gestational Age (SGA)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3605-5663","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Fedorczak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother\u2019s Memorial Hospital\u2014Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paula","family":"Smalczewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother\u2019s Memorial Hospital\u2014Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Grobelna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother\u2019s Memorial Hospital\u2014Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ma\u0142gorzata","family":"Sza\u0142apska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother\u2019s Memorial Hospital\u2014Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2941-8868","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arkadiusz","family":"Zygmunt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother\u2019s Memorial Hospital\u2014Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatric and Adult Endocrinology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0508-2186","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Renata","family":"Stawerska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Polish Mother\u2019s Memorial Hospital\u2014Research Institute, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Pediatric and Adult Endocrinology, Medical University of Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lewi\u0144ski, A., Karbownik-Lewi\u0144ska, M., Wieczorek-Szuka\u0142a, K., Stasiak, M., and Stawerska, R. 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