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Hormonal ‘minipuberty’ influences the somatic development of boys but not of girls up to the age of 6 years
Author(s) -
Becker Marianne,
Oehler Klaus,
Partsch CarlJoachim,
Ulmen Ulrike,
Schmutzler Renate,
Cammann Henning,
Hesse Volker
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
clinical endocrinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1365-2265
pISSN - 0300-0664
DOI - 10.1111/cen.12827
Subject(s) - testosterone (patch) , hormone , medicine , endocrinology , anthropometry , sex hormone binding globulin , luteinizing hormone , body mass index , physiology , androgen
Summary Objective Hormonal ‘minipuberty’ refers to a transient sex‐specific surge of LH , FSH , testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) in the first few months of life. We hypothesized a potential long‐term effect of this hormonal surge on somatic parameters in the following years and therefore designed this longitudinal study. Design A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the potential influence of hormone concentrations during minipuberty on anthropometric measurements conducted in the first 6 years of life. Patients Thirty‐five healthy babies (17 male, 18 female) were the participants. Measurements Testosterone, E2, SHBG , LH and FSH were measured at the ages of four, eight and 20 weeks. Anthropometric measurements were taken eight times in the first 12 months, then every 6 months up to the age of 6 years. Results A significant negative effect was found in boys between testosterone and LH levels at 8 weeks and body weight up to the age of 6 years and BMI up to 6 years ( LH ) and 3 years (T), respectively. A further negative effect was found between E2 levels at the age of 20 weeks and body weight as well as body length in the years that followed. A positive effect was observed between E2 at the age of 4 weeks and skinfold thickness up to the age of 6 years in boys. No significant effects were found in girls. Conclusions The findings seem to reflect an up to now unknown long‐term influence of the physiological early hormonal surge on the subsequent male but not female somatic development.