Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1)

Optimal Result: 64 - 240 ng/dL, or 8.36 - 31.37 nmol/L.

What is Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)?

Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) is a hormone that plays a critical role in cell growth, development, and repair. Structurally similar to insulin, IGF-1 works in conjunction with Growth Hormone (GH) to stimulate the reproduction and regeneration of cells throughout the body.

How does IGF-1 work?

Growth Hormone, produced by the pituitary gland, triggers the liver to produce IGF-1. Once released, IGF-1 promotes cell growth and tissue repair, contributing to various processes like:

  • Growth and development: IGF-1 supports growth in the womb and during adolescence, helping bones, muscles, and other tissues mature.
  • Tissue strengthening: It improves bone density, enhances muscle building, and strengthens connective tissues.
  • Healing and repair: IGF-1 aids in the regeneration of skin, bone, and gut lining, helping the body heal after injury.

Age and IGF-1 Levels

IGF-1 levels naturally decline with age, so test results are adjusted accordingly. IGF-1 is typically measured in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), with the normal ranges by age group as follows:

  • 182 to 780 ng/mL for ages 16 to 24
  • 114 to 492 ng/mL for ages 25 to 39
  • 90 to 360 ng/mL for ages 40 to 54
  • 71 to 290 ng/mL for ages 55 and older

Monitoring IGF-1 levels can provide insights into growth hormone activity and overall health, making it an important biomarker in both medical evaluations and anti-aging research.

What does it mean if your Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1) result is too high?

Elevated IGF-1 Levels: Diagnosis, Symptoms, and Treatment

Elevated Insulin-Like Growth Factor I (IGF-1) levels can indicate a variety of health conditions, most notably those related to excessive growth hormone (GH) production. IGF-1 is closely tied to GH activity in the body, and when levels are too high, it typically reflects an overproduction of GH, often due to conditions like acromegaly or gigantism. These conditions require timely diagnosis and treatment to prevent long-term health complications.

Diagnosing Elevated IGF-1 Levels:

High IGF-1 levels are usually detected through blood tests. This test is often part of an evaluation when a patient presents symptoms of abnormal growth or other related conditions. Because IGF-1 levels remain relatively stable throughout the day (unlike GH, which fluctuates), IGF-1 serves as a more reliable indicator of GH abnormalities.

Doctors typically measure both IGF-1 and GH to determine the root cause of elevated IGF-1 levels. A combination of high IGF-1 and high GH levels usually points to:

  • Acromegaly (in adults): A condition where excess GH leads to enlarged body parts, including hands, feet, and facial features.
  • Gigantism (in children and adolescents): An overproduction of GH during growth periods, resulting in excessive height and abnormal growth patterns.

Additional diagnostic tools may include imaging studies, such as an MRI, to check for pituitary tumors that may be causing the GH overproduction.

Symptoms of Elevated IGF-1 Levels:

Symptoms of elevated IGF-1 often develop gradually and can vary depending on the underlying condition. Common signs include:

  • Enlarged hands, feet, and facial features (jaw, nose, and forehead)
  • Joint pain and arthritis
  • Thickened skin
  • Increased sweating
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Headaches and vision problems (due to pituitary tumors)
  • Irregular menstrual cycles or erectile dysfunction

In children with gigantism, symptoms include rapid growth in height, delayed puberty, and muscle weakness.

Treatment Options for Elevated IGF-1 Levels:

The primary goal of treatment is to reduce IGF-1 and GH levels to normal ranges, prevent further complications, and address the underlying cause. Treatment options may include:

  • Surgery: If a pituitary tumor is the cause of elevated IGF-1, surgery is often the first line of treatment. Removing the tumor can reduce GH production and bring IGF-1 levels back to normal.
  • Medication: Medications that block or reduce GH production, such as somatostatin analogs (e.g., octreotide) or GH receptor antagonists (e.g., pegvisomant), may be prescribed to control IGF-1 levels. These medications are particularly useful if surgery is not an option or is only partially effective.
  • Radiation Therapy: In cases where surgery and medication are insufficient, radiation therapy may be used to shrink the pituitary tumor and lower GH production over time.

Long-term Management and Monitoring:

Patients with elevated IGF-1 require regular monitoring to ensure that treatment is effective and to prevent recurrence of symptoms. Blood tests to measure IGF-1 and GH levels are part of routine follow-up care, along with imaging studies to monitor the status of any pituitary tumors.

Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are key to preventing the serious health complications associated with elevated IGF-1 levels, such as cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and arthritis.

Frequently asked questions

Healthmatters is a highly-personalized health dashboard.

Instead of searching for your lab results in different places or tracking them down from different providers, Healthmatters houses, organizes, and interprets them all in one central location.

With a Healthmatters account, you can dive into the details of each biomarker and gain insights into the meaning behind your medical test data, anytime, anywhere.

For our professional users, Healthmatters provides intuitive tools that not only streamline analysis but also save valuable time when delving into your client's lab report history.

Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:

  • The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile,
  • GI-MAP,
  • The NutrEval FMV®,
  • The ION Profile,
  • Amino Acids Profile,
  • Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH),
  • Organic Acids Test,
  • Organix Comprehensive Profile,
  • Toxic Metals,
  • Complete Blood Count (CBC),
  • Metabolic panel,
  • Thyroid panel,
  • Lipid Panel,
  • Urinalysis,
  • And many, many more.

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.

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.

For those who prefer assistance, we offer a "Data entry service" to help you input your data. Simply attach an image or file of your lab test results, and a qualified team member from our data entry team will add the results for you.

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.

Our special data entry service makes it easy to add your results to your private dashboard. Just attach an image or a file of your lab test results, and our skilled data entry team will do the work for you. It's all done by humans, ensuring that your data is entered accurately and with personal care for each client.

Depending on your account, the data entry service can be included for free or come at an additional cost of $15 per report.

For users on the Complete monthly plan, the first report is entered free of charge, and each additional report incurs a fee of $15.

Unlimited account holders enjoy the entry of ten reports without charge. Subsequent reports are subject to a $15 fee per report.

Additionally, users on the Complete plan can upgrade to a yearly subscription from the account settings. The annual subscription includes a data entry service for five reports.

The Unlimited plan is a one-time purchase for $250, and it covers your account for a lifetime with no additional payments.

For the Complete plan, the cost is $15 per month. You have the flexibility to cancel it anytime through your account settings, ensuring no further payments. To avoid charges, remember to cancel at least a day before the renewal date. Once canceled, the subscription remains active until the end of the current billing cycle.

Additionally, you can upgrade to the yearly Advanced plan from within your account. The annual cost is $79, and it comes with a data entry service for five reports.

You can always upgrade to a lifetime version with a prorated price from a monthly or yearly subscription.

Simply log in and navigate to your account settings to cancel your subscription. Scroll down to locate the 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the page. Ensure you cancel at least one day before the renewal date to prevent any charges. Once cancellation is requested, the subscription remains active until the conclusion of the current billing cycle.

Our goal has been to make your Healthmatters account as intuitive as possible.

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.

2. All Tests View

Explore neatly organized reports on a timeline, highlighting crucial details like dates, critical results, and lab/panel names. Each report opens up to reveal in-depth descriptions and additional recommendations for each biomarker. The history of previous results is just a click away, and you can download a comprehensive report for deeper insights. Color-coded and user-friendly, it's designed for easy reading, understanding, and navigation.

3. Table View:

For a holistic view of all biomarkers side by side, our table view is your go-to. Results are neatly displayed in a categorized and dated table, ideal for those with an extensive test history. Utilize sorting, filters, and color-coding to enhance your analysis and gain extra insights.

Yes, you can download information from your account. We can compile your labs into a CSV file. To download all your labs, you can go to Account Settings, and at the bottom of the page, you will find a link to download your information.

Yes, you can print your report. To do so, navigate to "All tests" and open the report you wish to print. You'll find a print button in the right corner of the report. Click on it, and your browser's print window will open. If you prefer to print in a bigger typeface, adjust the scale using the print window settings.

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.

The professional account is designed for health professionals who wish to track and organize their clients' laboratory results.

Use promo code to save 10% off any plan.


We implement proven measures to keep your data safe.

At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.