Open AccessPubertal Status and Age are Differentially Associated with Inflammatory Biomarkers in Female and Male Adolescents
Author(s) -
Allison Stumper,
Daniel P. Moriarity,
Christopher L. Coe,
Lauren M. Ellman,
Lyn Y. Abramson,
Lauren B. Alloy
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of youth and adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.883
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1573-6601
pISSN - 0047-2891
DOI - 10.1007/s10964-019-01101-3
Subject(s) - inflammation , health psychology , tumor necrosis factor alpha , physiology , young adult , c reactive protein , medicine , psychology , association (psychology) , public health , pathology , psychotherapist
A better understanding of the maturational correlates of inflammatory activity during adolescence is needed to more appropriately study both normal and abnormal development. Inflammation is the immune system's first response to infection, injury, or psychological stress, and it has been shown to be elevated in individuals with both physical and psychological conditions. This study examined unique associations between (1) pubertal status and inflammatory biomarkers, and (2) age and inflammatory biomarkers, and whether these relationships differed by sex in a diverse sample of 155 adolescents (54.2% female, 45.8% male; M age = 16.22) from a northeastern city in the US. A more advanced pubertal status was uniquely associated with lower levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). Chronological age was uniquely associated with lower IL-8 levels. The association between pubertal status and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels differed by sex: more mature females had higher CRP, whereas pubertal status and CRP were not significantly associated in males. These findings highlight an important relation between pubertal development and inflammatory activity during adolescence.