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International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2021Chronic stress is encountered in our everyday life and is thought to contribute to a number of diseases. Many of these stress-related disorders display a sex bias.... (Review)
Review
Chronic stress is encountered in our everyday life and is thought to contribute to a number of diseases. Many of these stress-related disorders display a sex bias. Because glucocorticoid hormones are the main biological mediator of chronic stress, researchers have been interested in understanding the sexual dimorphism in glucocorticoid stress response to better explain the sex bias in stress-related diseases. Although not yet demonstrated for glucocorticoid regulation, sex chromosomes do influence sex-specific biology as soon as conception. Then a transient rise in testosterone start to shape the male brain during the prenatal period differently to the female brain. These organizational effects are completed just before puberty. The cerebral regions implicated in glucocorticoid regulation at rest and after stress are thereby impacted in a sex-specific manner. After puberty, the high levels of all gonadal hormones will interact with glucocorticoid hormones in specific crosstalk through their respective nuclear receptors. In addition, stress occurring early in life, in particular during the prenatal period and in adolescence will prime in the long-term glucocorticoid stress response through epigenetic mechanisms, again in a sex-specific manner. Altogether, various molecular mechanisms explain sex-specific glucocorticoid stress responses that do not exclude important gender effects in humans.
Topics: Adolescent; Animals; Child; Child Development; Embryonic Development; Genetic Association Studies; Glucocorticoids; Gonadal Hormones; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Puberty; Sex Characteristics; Sex Factors; Steroids; Stress, Physiological; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 33808655
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22063139 -
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Apr 2021Total amygdala volumes develop in association with sex and puberty, and postmortem studies find neuronal numbers increase in a nuclei specific fashion across...
Total amygdala volumes develop in association with sex and puberty, and postmortem studies find neuronal numbers increase in a nuclei specific fashion across development. Thus, amygdala subregions and composition may evolve with age. Our goal was to examine if amygdala subregion absolute volumes and/or relative proportion varies as a function of age, sex, or puberty in a large sample of typically developing adolescents (N = 408, 43 % female, 10-17 years). Utilizing the in vivo CIT168 atlas, we quantified 9 subregions and implemented Generalized Additive Mixed Models to capture potential non-linear associations with age and pubertal status between sexes. Only males showed significant age associations with the basolateral ventral and paralaminar subdivision (BLVPL), central nucleus (CEN), and amygdala transition area (ATA). Again, only males showed relative differences in the proportion of the BLVPL, CEN, ATA, along with lateral (LA) and amygdalostriatal transition area (ASTA), with age. Using a best-fit modeling approach, age, and not puberty, was found to drive these associations. The results suggest that amygdala subregions show unique variations with age in males across adolescence. Future research is warranted to determine if our findings may contribute to sex differences in mental health that emerge across adolescence.
Topics: Adolescent; Amygdala; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Neural Pathways; Puberty; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 33476872
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100883 -
Problemy Endokrinologii Sep 2021The precocious puberty is an urgent problem of pediatric endocrinology characterized by clinical and pathogenetic heterogeneity. The appearance of secondary sex...
The precocious puberty is an urgent problem of pediatric endocrinology characterized by clinical and pathogenetic heterogeneity. The appearance of secondary sex characteristics before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys requires timely diagnosis and the appointment of pathogenetically justified treatment in order to achieve the target indicators of final growth and prevent social deprivation. The developed clinical guidelines are the main working tool of the practitioner. They briefly and structurally present the main information about the epidemiology and modern classification of рrecocious puberty, methods of its diagnosis and treatment based on the principles of evidence-based medicine.
Topics: Child; Female; Humans; Male; Puberty; Puberty, Precocious
PubMed: 34766494
DOI: 10.14341/probl12821 -
The Journal of Adolescent Health :... Mar 2021Risk markers for breast cancer include earlier onset of menarche (age at menarche [AAM]) and peak height velocity (PHV). Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is...
PURPOSE
Risk markers for breast cancer include earlier onset of menarche (age at menarche [AAM]) and peak height velocity (PHV). Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is associated with pubertal milestones, as well as cancer risk. This study examined the relationships between pubertal milestones associated with breast cancer risk and hormone changes in puberty.
METHODS
This is a longitudinal study of pubertal maturation in 183 girls, recruited at ages 6-7, followed up between 2004 and 2018. Measures included age at onset of puberty, and adult height attained; PHV; AAM; adult height, and serum IGF-1, and estrone-to-androstenedione (E:A) ratio.
RESULTS
PHV was greatest in early, and least in late maturing girls; length of the pubertal growth spurt was longest in early, and shortest in late maturing girls. Earlier AAM was related to greater PHV. IGF-1 concentrations tracked significantly during puberty; higher IGF-1 was related to earlier age of PHV, earlier AAM, greater PHV, and taller adult height. Greater E:A ratio was associated with earlier AAM.
CONCLUSIONS
Factors driving the association of earlier menarche and pubertal growth with breast cancer risk may be explained through a unifying concept relating higher IGF-1 concentrations, greater lifelong estrogen exposure, and longer pubertal growth period, with an expanded pubertal window of susceptibility.
Topics: Adult; Body Height; Breast Neoplasms; Child; Female; Humans; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Longitudinal Studies; Menarche; Puberty
PubMed: 32888770
DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.016 -
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Dec 2022Adolescence is defined by puberty and represents a period characterized by neural circuitry maturation (e.g., fronto-striatal systems) facilitating cognitive...
Adolescence is defined by puberty and represents a period characterized by neural circuitry maturation (e.g., fronto-striatal systems) facilitating cognitive improvements. Though studies have characterized age-related changes, the extent to which puberty influences maturation of fronto-striatal networks is less known. Here, we combine two longitudinal datasets to characterize the role of puberty in the development of fronto-striatal resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and its relationship to inhibitory control in 106 10-18-year-olds. Beyond age effects, we found that puberty was related to decreases in rsFC between the caudate and the anterior vmPFC, rostral and ventral ACC, and v/dlPFC, as well as with rsFC increases between the dlPFC and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) across males and females. Stronger caudate rsFC with the dlPFC and vlPFC during early puberty was associated with worse inhibitory control and slower correct responses, respectively, whereas by late puberty, stronger vlPFC rsFC with the dorsal striatum was associated with faster correct responses. Taken together, our findings suggest that certain fronto-striatal connections are associated with pubertal maturation beyond age effects, which, in turn are related to inhibitory control. We discuss implications of puberty-related fronto-striatal maturation to further our understanding of pubertal effects related to adolescent cognitive and affective neurodevelopment.
Topics: Adolescent; Male; Female; Humans; Adolescent Development; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Corpus Striatum; Puberty; Nucleus Accumbens
PubMed: 36495791
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101183 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022To determine whether the timing of puberty associates with school performance.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the timing of puberty associates with school performance.
METHODS
Growth data on 13,183 children born between 1997 and 2002, were collected from child health clinics and school healthcare and school performance data from school records. Age at peak height velocity (PHV) marked pubertal timing. The relationships between age at PHV and average grades in mathematics, native language, English, and physical education from school years 6 (end of elementary school; age 11-12 years), 7 (start of middle school; 12-13 years), and 9 (end of middle school; 14-15 years) were modeled using generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models, adjusted for the month of birth and annual income and education levels in school catchment areas.
RESULTS
The mean (SD) age at PHV was 13.54 (1.17) years in boys and 11.43 (1.18) years in girls. In girls, age at PHV was associated with grades in mathematics (β=0.041-0.062, p<0.005) and physical education (β=0.077-0.107, p<0.001) across the study years, and in school year 9, also with grades in English (β=-0.047, 95%CI -0.072 to -0.021, p<0.001). Among boys, only the grades in physical education were related to age at PHV across the study years (β=0.026-0.073, p<0.01) and in middle school the grades in mathematics decreased dramatically.
CONCLUSIONS
In both sexes, the timing of puberty was associated with the grades in physical education, and in girls, with academic achievement. The decrease in boys' mathematics grades and sex difference in academic achievement were unexplained by the timing of puberty.
Topics: Body Height; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Puberty
PubMed: 35992102
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.936005 -
Puberty Timing and Sex-Specific Trajectories of Systolic Blood Pressure: a Prospective Cohort Study.Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) Aug 2022Sex differences in systolic blood pressure (SBP) emerge during adolescence but the role of puberty is not well understood. We examined sex-specific changes in SBP...
BACKGROUND
Sex differences in systolic blood pressure (SBP) emerge during adolescence but the role of puberty is not well understood. We examined sex-specific changes in SBP preceding and following puberty and examined the impact of puberty timing on SBP trajectories in females and males.
METHODS
Trajectories of SBP before and after puberty and by timing of puberty in females and males in a contemporary birth cohort study were analyzed. Repeated measures of height from age 5 to 20 years were used to identify puberty timing (age at peak height velocity). SBP was measured on ten occasions from 3 to 24 years (N participants, 4062; repeated SBP measures, 29 172). Analyses were performed using linear spline multilevel models based on time before and after puberty and were adjusted for parental factors and early childhood factors.
RESULTS
Mean age at peak height velocity was 11.7 years (SD, 0.8) for females and 13.6 years (SD, 0.9) for males. Males had faster rates of increase in SBP before puberty leading to 10.19 mm Hg (95% CI, 6.80-13.57) higher mean SBP at puberty which remained similar at 24 years (mean difference, 11.43 mm Hg [95% CI, 7.22-15.63]). Puberty timing was associated with small transient differences in SBP trajectories postpuberty in both sexes and small differences at 24 years in females only.
CONCLUSIONS
A large proportion of the higher SBP observed in males compared with females in early adulthood is accrued before puberty. Interventions targeting puberty timing are unlikely to influence SBP in early adulthood.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Blood Pressure; Body Height; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Prospective Studies; Puberty; Risk Factors; Young Adult
PubMed: 35587023
DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.18531 -
Clinical Endocrinology Mar 2022An association between premature adrenarche and metabolic syndrome at presentation has been described. Our aim was to assess whether the presence of high... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
CONTEXT
An association between premature adrenarche and metabolic syndrome at presentation has been described. Our aim was to assess whether the presence of high dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS [HD]) at the adrenarche determines the risk of metabolic syndrome during puberty, taking into account body mass index (BMI) and birth weight.
DESIGN
Prospective observational.
PATIENTS
Five hundred four girls from the Growth and Obesity Chilean Cohort Study were followed from birth through puberty. At age ~7, subjects were classified by DHEAS concentrations into the HD (>75th percentile) or normal DHEAS (ND, ≤75th percentile) subgroups.
MEASUREMENTS
Anthropometrics, semiannual clinical pubertal staging and hormonal and metabolic levels. The relationships among DHEAS at age ~7, metabolic syndrome, and each of its components independently, were analyzed by linear and logistic regression models during puberty and 1-year postmenarche, adjusted by confounders.
RESULTS
Girls with HD at 7 years exhibited higher BMI, more central fat and higher serum androgen and insulin like growth factor (IGF)-I levels throughout puberty. Also, girls with HD had a greater prevalence of hyperglycemia at B2 and B4 breast stages, and of low HDL at B4. At 1 year after menarche, HD girls had a higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome, and those with BMI > 1 SD score had a higher metabolic score and insulin levels than ND girls with similar BMI.
CONCLUSIONS
Our observations suggest that girls with HD at the age of adrenarche may be at greater risk for metabolic syndrome at adolescence, especially in those who are overweight or obese. Our results emphasize the importance of lifestyle interventions for childhood overweight and obesity among girls with HD.
Topics: Adolescent; Adrenarche; Body Mass Index; Child; Cohort Studies; Dehydroepiandrosterone; Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate; Female; Humans; Male; Metabolic Syndrome; Obesity; Puberty
PubMed: 34904249
DOI: 10.1111/cen.14654 -
Indian Pediatrics Nov 2023Linear growth, onset of and progress through puberty are all adversely affected by chronic diseases during childhood and adolescence. Peak bone mass accrual by the end...
Linear growth, onset of and progress through puberty are all adversely affected by chronic diseases during childhood and adolescence. Peak bone mass accrual by the end of adolescence determines adult fracture risk. Given that half of total lifetime bone mass is accrued during the pubertal years under the influence of sex hormones, normal timing of pubertal onset, with attention to completion of feminization for girls or virilization in boys is integral to achievement of optimal bone mass, which in turn will reduce adult fracture risk for those who have a chronic relapsing, remitting or persistent illness.
Topics: Male; Adult; Adolescent; Female; Humans; Bone Density; Bone and Bones; Puberty; Chronic Disease; Recurrence
PubMed: 37260064
DOI: No ID Found -
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology... Nov 2023The melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R) has recently emerged as a critical regulator of pubertal timing, linear growth, and the acquisition of lean mass in humans and mice....
CONTEXT
The melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R) has recently emerged as a critical regulator of pubertal timing, linear growth, and the acquisition of lean mass in humans and mice. In population-based studies, heterozygous carriers of deleterious variants in MC3R report a later onset of puberty than noncarriers. However, the frequency of such variants in patients who present with clinical disorders of pubertal development is currently unknown.
OBJECTIVE
This work aimed to determine whether deleterious MC3R variants are more frequently found in patients clinically presenting with constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) or normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (nIHH).
METHODS
We examined the sequence of MC3R in 362 adolescents with a clinical diagnosis of CDGP and 657 patients with nIHH, experimentally characterized the signaling properties of all nonsynonymous variants found and compared their frequency to that in 5774 controls from a population-based cohort. Additionally, we established the relative frequency of predicted deleterious variants in individuals with self-reported delayed vs normally timed menarche/voice-breaking in the UK Biobank cohort.
RESULTS
MC3R loss-of-function variants were infrequent but overrepresented in patients with CDGP (8/362 [2.2%]; OR = 4.17; P = .001). There was no strong evidence of overrepresentation in patients with nIHH (4/657 [0.6%]; OR = 1.15; P = .779). In 246 328 women from the UK Biobank, predicted deleterious variants were more frequently found in those self-reporting delayed (aged ≥16 years) vs normal age at menarche (OR = 1.66; P = 3.90E-07).
CONCLUSION
We have found evidence that functionally damaging variants in MC3R are overrepresented in individuals with CDGP but are not a common cause of this phenotype.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Female; Animals; Mice; Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 3; Prevalence; Hypogonadism; Puberty, Delayed; Puberty; Growth Disorders
PubMed: 37339320
DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgad373