IGF-1 Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF1)
The messenger through which growth hormone does most of its work.
Also printed asIGF1 · Somatomedin C · Insulin-like Growth Factor
What it measures
The messenger through which growth hormone does most of its work.
Supports muscle and bone repair; it falls with age, poor sleep and low protein intake.
Why it matters for how long you stay well
It supports muscle and bone repair and falls with age, poor sleep and low protein intake, so much of the fall people accept as ageing answers to sleep and to what is on the plate.
How it shows up in daily life
A low level can show as poor recovery from exercise, thinning muscle and sleep that does not refresh you.
High and low readings
When it reads high
Uncommon and worth a review.
When it reads low
Low protein intake, poor sleep, or simply age.
What moves it
Daily life
- protein at every meal
- deep sleep, when growth hormone is released
- strength training
- age
- liver health
Medicines known to shift it
- oral contraceptives (lower it)
Listed so a result can be read in context. It is not advice to start, stop or change any medicine; that decision belongs with your physician.
Common questions
What does Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 measure?
The messenger through which growth hormone does most of its work. Supports muscle and bone repair; it falls with age, poor sleep and low protein intake.
What does a high IGF-1 result usually mean?
Uncommon and worth a review.
What does a low IGF-1 result usually mean?
Low protein intake, poor sleep, or simply age.
What is the usual reference range for IGF-1?
A broad adult reference band is 90–300 ng/mL. Labs differ, so read your result against the band printed on your own report.
Educational only, not a diagnosis. A single number means little without your history and the rest of your panel, so discuss your own results with your physician.
Typical adult reference band
- Adults
- 90–300 ng/mL
Labs differ. The band printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
Reported in ng/mL
Ageing relevance
4/5
A strong independent predictor of illness and mortality in large cohorts.
Worth knowing
Almost all of it is made by your liver, not by the gland that signals for it.
Have a report with this marker on it? Read it in context.
Upload it to Oraia, our health-intelligence tool, for a plain-language read of your markers that a Genoryx doctor can review.
Your biological age is a number you can measure.
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