Abstract

Context

The study of gonadal hormone effects on adolescent wellbeing has been limited by logistical challenges. Urine hormone profiling offers new opportunities to understand the health and behavioral implications of puberty hormones.

Objective

To characterize pubertal change in urinary testosterone and estradiol among male and female adolescents, respectively.

Design

Three-year prospective cohort study.

Setting

Australian regional community.

Participants

282 (163 male) normally developing adolescents aged 11.8 ± 1.0 years at baseline.

Main outcome measure

Quarterly urine measurements of testosterone and estradiol (mass spectrometry); annual anthropometric assessment and Tanner stage (TS) self-report.

Results

Two-class sigmoidal and quadratic growth mixture models (centered on age at TS3) were identified as best-fit for describing testosterone (male) and estradiol (female) change. Classes 1 (male: 63%; female: 82%) and 2 (male: 37%; female: 18%) were respectively named the “stable” and “unstable” trajectories, characterized by different standard deviation of quarterly hormone change and magnitude of hormone peaks and troughs (all P < 0.001). Compared with class 1 (stable), class 2 males were taller at baseline (154 vs 151 cm), reported earlier and faster TS progression (P < 0.01), and showed higher serum testosterone levels at baseline and 3 years (P ≤ 0.01). Class 2 females exhibited smaller height and weight gains over the 3 years and had higher baseline serum estradiol (249 vs 98 pmol/L; P = 0.002) than class 1.

Conclusions

Adolescents showed 2 distinct urinary gonadal hormone trajectories, characterized by stability of change over time, which were not associated with consistent anthropometric differences. Results provide a methodology for studying gonadal hormone impacts on other aspects of biopsychosocial wellbeing. Identification of potential “at-risk” hormone groups would be important for planning supportive interventions.

Details

Title
Bumpy and Smoother Pathways of Puberty Hormone Change: A Novel Way to Define Gonadal Hormone Trajectories in Adolescents
Author
Steinbeck, Katharine S 1 ; Garden, Frances L 2 ; Cheng, Hoi Lun 1 ; Luscombe, Georgina M 3 ; Handelsman, David J 4 

 The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Westmead, NSW, Australia; The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Academic Department of Adolescent Medicine, Westmead, NSW, Australia 
 University of New South Wales, South Western Sydney Clinical School, Liverpool, NSW, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Respiratory Medicine Research Stream, Liverpool, NSW, Australia 
 The University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Rural Health, Orange, NSW, Australia 
 The University of Sydney, ANZAC Research Institute, Concord, NSW, Australia 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
Feb 2020
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
24721972
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3170634249
Copyright
© Endocrine Society 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.