Body composition and bone measurements in intra-uterine growth retarded and early postnatally undernourished male and female rats at the age of 6 months: comparison with puberty

Undernutrition in early life may permanently change body structure, physiology and metabolism and leads to chronic diseases in later life. To test whether malnutrition during different critical time periods around birth in the rat has long-lasting effects on body composition and skeletal growth, we examined body weight and body composition in pubertal rats and adult rats of 6 months after pre- and postnatal malnutrition. Prenatal malnutrition or intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) was induced by ligation of the uterine arteries on day 17 of gestation and postnatal food restriction (FR) by litter enlargement to 20 pups per mother from day 2 after birth until weaning (day 24). Pubertal markers were balanopreputial separation (BPS) in the male and vaginal opening (VO) in the female. IUGR as well as FR resulted in a persistent growth retardation. From birth in IUGR rats and from day 4 after birth in FR rats until 6 months of age body weight in male and female rats was significantly lower compared with controls (P< 0.01 and P< 0.05). Although total body bone mineral content (TBBMC) did not differ between male IUGR rats and controls at BPS, at the age of 6 months TBBMC was significantly lower (P< 0.01) compared with controls. At BPS as well as at 6 months of age, TBBMC was significantly lower in male FR rats compared with controls (P< 0.05 and P< 0.01). In the female IUGR rats TBBMC was significantly lower compared with controls at VO (P< 0.01) and 6 months (P< 0.05). TBBMC in the female FR rats was significantly lower at VO (P< 0.01), but did not differ from controls at the age of 6 months. For both IUGR and FR male and female rats these differences disappeared after adjusting for body weight. Body composition in terms of total fat mass, percentage fat and percentage lean did not differ from controls in male and female IUGR rats at 6 months and the same results were observed in the female FR rats. However, in the male FR rats, total fat mass and percentage fat were significantly lower compared with controls (P< 0.01 and P< 0.05), while the percentage lean mass was significantly higher (P< 0.05). We conclude that different critical time periods of malnutrition around birth have different effects later in life on growth, which do not disappear at least after 6 months of life. With respect to body composition, only in the FR male rats, differences are found in total fat mass and the balance of percentage fat mass and lean mass. At time of puberty and at the age of 6 months bone mass adjusted for body weight does not seem to be affected by perinatal undernutrition.