Other names: IGF 1, LC/MS, INSULIN LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-1, Human IGF-I (ng/mL), Somatomedin C, IGF I, LC/MS
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1) is a hormone primarily produced by the liver in response to stimulation by Growth Hormone (GH). It plays a crucial role in promoting normal growth and development, especially during childhood and adolescence. IGF-1 continues to influence cellular repair, muscle maintenance, and tissue regeneration throughout adulthood, making it a key biomarker for evaluating growth hormone function, metabolic health, and aging-related conditions.
Although structurally similar to insulin, IGF-1 has distinct biological effects. It acts as a mediator of growth hormone activity, carrying out many of GH’s anabolic functions in tissues such as bone, muscle, cartilage, and skin.
Growth Hormone (GH), secreted by the anterior pituitary gland, stimulates the liver and other tissues to produce IGF-1. Once in circulation, IGF-1 binds to specific IGF-1 receptors on the surface of cells, activating pathways that promote:
Cellular growth and proliferation
IGF-1 stimulates the replication of cells in bones, muscles, and organs, making it essential during periods of rapid growth, such as puberty.
Tissue repair and regeneration
It enhances protein synthesis and supports the repair of damaged tissues, including muscle, bone, skin, and intestinal lining.
Bone density and skeletal development
IGF-1 plays a critical role in bone remodeling by supporting both osteoblast (bone-building) and osteoclast (bone-resorbing) activity.
Muscle growth and metabolic balance
IGF-1 increases muscle protein synthesis, reduces muscle breakdown, and may contribute to maintaining insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.
Measuring IGF-1 levels provides an indirect but reliable indicator of growth hormone activity, as IGF-1 levels remain relatively stable throughout the day compared to the pulsatile nature of GH. IGF-1 testing is commonly used in the evaluation of:
Growth disorders in children and adolescents
Suspected adult growth hormone deficiency
Acromegaly and gigantism (excess growth hormone conditions)
Anti-aging and regenerative medicine programs
Monitoring GH therapy
Nutritional and chronic disease status
Abnormally high or low IGF-1 levels can signal disruptions in the GH–IGF axis, often linked to endocrine disorders, liver dysfunction, malnutrition, or chronic inflammatory conditions.
IGF-1 levels naturally decline with age. Therefore, interpretation is age-specific. Although reference ranges may vary slightly by laboratory, typical ranges are approximately:
Ages 16–24: 182 to 780 ng/mL
Ages 25–39: 114 to 492 ng/mL
Ages 40–54: 90 to 360 ng/mL
Ages 55+: 71 to 290 ng/mL
Low IGF-1 levels in adults may suggest growth hormone deficiency, chronic illness, undernutrition, or age-related decline. Elevated IGF-1 levels may be associated with acromegaly or excessive GH therapy.
Age: IGF-1 peaks during puberty and gradually declines with aging.
Nutrition: Malnutrition, especially protein deficiency, lowers IGF-1.
Liver health: As the liver produces IGF-1, liver disease can suppress its levels.
Hormonal disorders: Pituitary dysfunction, GH resistance, or excess GH can alter IGF-1.
Medications: GH therapy increases IGF-1; corticosteroids and estrogen may reduce it.
Due to its central role in tissue growth and metabolic health, IGF-1 is increasingly studied in contexts such as:
Aging and longevity: Both high and low IGF-1 levels have been linked to different aspects of aging and disease risk.
Muscle wasting disorders: IGF-1 may help in evaluating sarcopenia and cachexia.
Metabolic health: Emerging research links IGF-1 levels with insulin sensitivity, diabetes risk, and cardiovascular disease.
Cancer: Elevated IGF-1 has been investigated for potential associations with increased cell proliferation and cancer risk, particularly in hormone-sensitive tissues.
IGF-1 is a powerful growth-promoting hormone and a key marker of the body's anabolic (building and repair) capacity. Whether evaluating a child’s growth concerns, investigating adult hormone imbalance, or monitoring age-related changes, IGF-1 offers valuable insights into growth hormone activity and overall metabolic health. Testing IGF-1 levels can guide both diagnosis and treatment across a range of endocrine, metabolic, and regenerative conditions.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1) is a hormone primarily produced by the liver in response to growth hormone (GH). It plays a major role in growth, tissue repair, and metabolic regulation. When IGF-1 levels are too high, it often reflects excessive growth hormone activity, which can lead to serious health issues over time—especially if left untreated.
Elevated IGF-1 is most commonly associated with acromegaly in adults and gigantism in children and adolescents. These conditions are often caused by noncancerous tumors in the pituitary gland that stimulate overproduction of GH.
Definition: IGF-1 is a hormone that mirrors growth hormone activity in the body.
Main Cause of Elevation: Excess GH production, often due to a pituitary tumor.
Associated Conditions: Acromegaly (adults) and gigantism (children).
Next Steps: Confirm with GH testing and imaging (e.g., MRI), and develop a treatment plan with your doctor.
High IGF-1 levels are typically due to growth hormone overproduction, which overstimulates the liver’s release of IGF-1. Common causes include:
Acromegaly (adults): A hormonal disorder that causes enlarged hands, feet, facial features, and internal organs over time.
Gigantism (children): Excess GH during developmental years causes abnormally rapid height and bone growth.
Pituitary adenomas: Noncancerous tumors of the pituitary gland are the most common cause of GH and IGF-1 overproduction.
GH therapy overdose: Rarely, IGF-1 may be elevated in people receiving excessive GH treatment.
Because GH levels fluctuate throughout the day, IGF-1 provides a more stable and reliable measure of average GH activity.
Testing and diagnosis typically involve:
IGF-1 Blood Test
Elevated IGF-1 suggests chronic GH overproduction.
GH Testing
A glucose suppression test may be used to check if GH remains high when it should be suppressed.
Imaging
MRI of the pituitary gland is commonly ordered to look for a tumor causing hormone excess.
Other lab tests
Blood sugar, insulin, thyroid, and liver function tests may help assess related complications.
Symptoms often develop gradually and may go unnoticed at first. They vary based on the severity and underlying cause:
Enlarged hands, feet, and facial bones (jaw, nose, forehead)
Joint pain, arthritis, or carpal tunnel syndrome
Thickened skin and enlarged tongue
Deepened voice
Excessive sweating
Fatigue and muscle weakness
Headaches or vision changes (due to tumor pressure)
Irregular menstruation or erectile dysfunction
Rapid and excessive growth in height
Delayed puberty
Muscle weakness
Enlarged facial features and hands/feet
The main goal of treatment is to normalize IGF-1 and GH levels, reduce tumor size (if present), and prevent long-term complications.
Transsphenoidal surgery to remove a pituitary tumor is often the first-line treatment for acromegaly or gigantism.
Can immediately reduce GH and IGF-1 levels in many patients.
Somatostatin analogs (e.g., octreotide, lanreotide): Reduce GH secretion.
GH receptor antagonists (e.g., pegvisomant): Block GH action at its target cells, lowering IGF-1.
Dopamine agonists (e.g., cabergoline): May help in some cases, especially with mild disease.
Used when surgery and medications are not fully effective.
May take months or years to achieve full hormonal control.
Managing elevated IGF-1 is a lifelong process. Routine monitoring helps ensure that hormone levels remain controlled and complications are prevented:
Regular blood tests: To track IGF-1 and GH levels
Repeat MRI scans: To monitor tumor growth or recurrence
Monitoring for complications: Including diabetes, high blood pressure, joint damage, and sleep apnea
Early treatment significantly improves long-term health outcomes and quality of life.
Can I have high IGF-1 without symptoms?
Yes. In early stages, many patients feel fine. Subtle symptoms can be overlooked, so lab testing is important.
Is high IGF-1 always caused by a tumor?
Most often, yes. Pituitary adenomas are the leading cause, but other rare conditions or excess GH therapy can also raise IGF-1.
Can high IGF-1 be dangerous?
Yes. Long-term elevation is linked to increased risks of heart disease, insulin resistance, sleep apnea, arthritis, and even certain cancers.
Does treatment normalize IGF-1?
In many cases, yes—especially with early diagnosis and effective surgery or medication. Ongoing monitoring is key.
Can lifestyle changes lower IGF-1?
Lifestyle changes alone are not sufficient when GH overproduction is the cause. However, managing blood sugar, weight, and sleep can support treatment.
Elevated IGF-1 is a marker of excess growth hormone activity, often due to pituitary tumors.
If untreated, high IGF-1 can cause serious complications including acromegaly, cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and joint disease.
Diagnosis and treatment are highly effective, especially when caught early.
Partner with your healthcare provider to confirm the cause, choose the right treatment, and monitor your long-term health.
Import lab results from multiple providers, track changes over time, customize your reference ranges, and get clear explanations for each result. Everything is stored securely, exportable in one organized file, and shareable with your doctor—or anyone you choose.
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Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1) is a vital hormone primarily produced by the liver in response to growth hormone (GH). It plays an essential role in regulating growth, supporting tissue repair, maintaining muscle and bone health, and reflecting overall nutritional and metabolic status.
Low IGF-1 levels—especially when below the age-specific reference range—can point to growth hormone deficiency, GH resistance, malnutrition, or chronic illness. IGF-1 testing is often used alongside other hormone tests to diagnose pituitary disorders, growth abnormalities, or systemic metabolic conditions.
What is IGF-1?
A hormone regulated by growth hormone that supports growth, cellular repair, and tissue health.
Main Causes of Low IGF-1:
GH deficiency, pituitary or hypothalamic dysfunction, malnutrition, chronic diseases, or aging.
Who Should Be Tested?
Individuals with unexplained fatigue, muscle loss, poor growth in children, or suspected hormone imbalance.
Next Steps:
Work with your healthcare provider to identify the root cause and explore appropriate treatment or lifestyle strategies.
A low IGF-1 result (especially if below the age-adjusted reference range) may indicate:
Growth Hormone (GH) Deficiency
The most common cause. IGF-1 levels are more stable than GH, making IGF-1 a more reliable marker of GH status.
GH Resistance or Insensitivity
The body produces GH, but tissues do not respond to it—leading to persistently low IGF-1 levels despite normal or high GH levels.
Pituitary or Hypothalamic Dysfunction
Tumors, trauma, surgery, or radiation can impair GH production, leading to secondary IGF-1 deficiency.
Malnutrition or Anorexia
IGF-1 is highly sensitive to nutritional status and often decreases before other markers like prealbumin or transferrin.
Chronic Illness or Inflammatory States
Conditions such as liver disease, kidney disease, or poorly controlled diabetes can suppress IGF-1 production.
Aging
IGF-1 levels decline naturally with age, but significantly low levels—even in older adults—can reflect endocrine or systemic health concerns.
| Cause | Key Features | Clinical Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| GH deficiency | Low GH and low IGF-1 | Suggests pituitary or hypothalamic dysfunction |
| GH resistance/insensitivity | Normal or high GH, low IGF-1 | May indicate genetic or acquired resistance |
| Pituitary damage | History of trauma, tumor, surgery | Points to central GH deficiency |
| Malnutrition/anorexia | Low body weight and low IGF-1 | Early and sensitive marker of inadequate nutrition |
| Chronic illness (e.g., CKD, liver disease) | Low IGF-1 with systemic symptoms | Supports diagnosis and disease monitoring |
| Aging | Gradual decline over time | Expected, but very low levels may need evaluation |
IGF-1 is frequently tested alongside or in place of IGF Binding Protein 3 (IGFBP-3) to evaluate GH activity. In most cases, IGF-1 offers superior diagnostic accuracy, particularly when diagnosing growth hormone deficiency, acromegaly, or GH resistance.
Low IGF-1 strongly suggests:
Complete or partial growth hormone deficiency
GH resistance or insensitivity
Severe undernutrition or catabolic stress
A normal IGF-1 result does not rule out mild GH deficiency or early-stage resistance. Clinical context matters.
You may not always feel symptoms, but when present, they can include:
Persistent fatigue or low energy
Muscle loss or reduced strength
Increased abdominal or visceral fat
Low bone density or osteoporosis
Slower healing or recovery
Stunted growth or delayed puberty (in children)
Mood changes, poor memory, or lower quality of life
For individuals undergoing GH therapy (children with growth delays, adults with diagnosed GH deficiency), IGF-1 monitoring helps guide treatment:
Goal: Maintain IGF-1 within the normal reference range, ideally in the middle-to-upper third for your age.
If IGF-1 is too high: Higher levels do not improve outcomes and may increase side effects over time.
If IGF-1 remains low despite treatment: This may suggest GH underdosing, poor absorption, or resistance—your provider may adjust your plan accordingly.
If your IGF-1 is low, your doctor may recommend:
Growth Hormone Stimulation Testing to confirm GH deficiency
Pituitary MRI if a tumor or structural issue is suspected
Blood work to evaluate thyroid function, liver health, kidney function, or nutritional deficiencies
Follow-up testing after lifestyle, nutritional, or therapeutic interventions
Is low IGF-1 always dangerous?
Not always. A gradual decline is part of normal aging. But if IGF-1 is very low—especially with symptoms or in younger individuals—it may signal an underlying condition.
Can IGF-1 be improved naturally?
Yes. Addressing malnutrition, managing chronic illness, and increasing physical activity may help. In medically indicated cases, GH therapy may also be used.
Do children and adults have different IGF-1 targets?
Yes. IGF-1 reference ranges are age-specific, and treatment decisions differ between pediatric and adult cases.
Does normal IGF-1 mean GH function is normal?
Not necessarily. Mild GH deficiency or resistance may not show up in IGF-1 levels. Clinical signs are just as important as lab values.
What if I feel fine but my IGF-1 is low?
If you're asymptomatic and otherwise healthy, your provider may monitor rather than treat. But very low levels always deserve a closer look.
Low IGF-1 can reflect growth hormone issues, malnutrition, or systemic illness—even when other lab values appear normal.
It’s not just a marker of growth—IGF-1 reflects your body's repair, metabolic balance, and hormonal health.
Partner with your provider to explore the cause, monitor changes, and build a tailored treatment or wellness plan.
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Easily upload lab results from any provider, whether it's a hospital, independent lab, or home testing service. We support PDFs, scanned documents, and JPEGs from patient portals. No need to log in to multiple platforms — everything is centralized in one secure space.
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Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest. Complete plan members receive one report entered for free, then $15 per report after that. Unlimited plan members receive ten report entries for free, then $15 per report after that.
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest.
Whether you're working with a doctor, nutritionist, caregiver, or wellness coach, you can securely share your complete lab history by sending an invite link to anyone you trust. You have full control over who sees your information and for how long, ensuring your privacy and peace of mind at every step.
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Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
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You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
While we work with many popular labs, we welcome reports from lots of other places too.
It's as simple as this: if you can get a test done, you can upload it to Healthmatters and we can interpret results from any lab out there. If laboratories can analyze it, we can interpret it.
If you're on the hunt for a specific biomarker, contact us and we'll add it to our database. Anything from blood, urine, saliva, or stool can be uploaded, understood, and tracked with your Healthmatters account.
The Complete Plan ($15/month) is perfect for individuals who want ongoing access to their health data. It includes unlimited lab imports, visual tracking, custom ranges, result explanations, full account exports, and secure sharing — all with a simple monthly subscription. You can cancel anytime and restart your plan whenever you're ready — your data will still be there waiting for you. You can also upgrade to the Unlimited Plan at any time, with the cost prorated based on what you've already paid.
The Unlimited Plan ($250 one-time) is also designed for individuals but offers lifetime access with no ongoing subscription. You'll get all the same features as the Complete Plan, plus a larger initial data entry allowance (10 reports), making it a great choice if you prefer a one-time payment and long-term use without monthly fees.
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There are two ways to add your test reports to your Healthmatters account. One option is to input the data using the data entry forms. The other method is to utilize our "Data entry service."
Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values.
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We support various file types, including PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is particularly useful if you have many reports to upload or if you're too busy to handle the data entry yourself.
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We've crafted multiple ways for you to navigate your data, whether you're glancing at a single report or delving into your historical test reports.
1. Graph View:Dive into a visual journey with our biomarker graphs, showcasing over 40 data points. Combining years of results unveils trends, empowering you to make informed decisions. Our visualization tools make it a breeze to compare and understand changes over time, even if your results are from different labs. A search function and filters simplify the exploration of extensive data, allowing you to focus on what needs attention.
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Yes, you can download your information anytime. We offer two easy ways to export your lab data:
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Yes, you can! We highly recommend activating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your account. To do so, please navigate to the "Profile and Security" section of your account, where you will find instructions for activating 2FA.
Yes, you can. When entering values for the biomarker, you will see an "Edit Range" button. Click this button, and you'll have the option to enter a custom range.
A personal account is all about keeping your own lab test results in check. It's just for you and your personal use.
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To learn more about Healthmatters Pro, please refer to the professional page.
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