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BMC Research Notes Jan 2019To determine the influence of sexual maturation status on adiposity indicators of children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the influence of sexual maturation status on adiposity indicators of children and adolescents.
RESULTS
2412 individuals participated, 1285 (47.4%) males and 1408 (52.6%) females. There was moderate to weak correlation between age and adiposity indicators for both sexes. By analyzing the relationship between age and body fat indexes adjusted for Sexual Maturation Status, several changes were observed, mainly in girls. Precocious maturation was associated with increased adiposity indicators in girls, whereas late maturation was associated with decreased adiposity indicators in both sexes. Precocious maturation was associated with increased adiposity indicators in girls, whereas late maturation was associated with decreased adiposity indicators in both sexes.
Topics: Adiposity; Adolescent; Age Factors; Brazil; Child; Comorbidity; Female; Humans; Male; Pediatric Obesity; Puberty, Delayed; Puberty, Precocious; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 30683149
DOI: 10.1186/s13104-019-4095-5 -
Journal of Research on Adolescence :... Mar 2019Decades of puberty research have yielded key scientific discoveries. Building on the field's rich history, we highlight four understudied populations: youth of color,... (Review)
Review
Decades of puberty research have yielded key scientific discoveries. Building on the field's rich history, we highlight four understudied populations: youth of color, boys, sexual minority youth, and gender minority youth. We explore why scientific study has been slow to evolve in these groups and propose paths forward for exciting new work. For ethnically racially diverse youth, we discuss the need to incorporate culture and context. For boys, we highlight methodological issues and challenges of mapping existing conceptual models onto boys. For sexual and gender minority youth, we discuss unique challenges during puberty and suggest ways to better capture their experiences. With an eye toward a new era, we make recommendations for next steps and underscore the importance of transdisciplinary research.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Health; Community-Based Participatory Research; Cultural Competency; Ethnicity; Female; Humans; Male; Psychology, Adolescent; Puberty; Sexual Maturation; Sexual and Gender Minorities
PubMed: 30869847
DOI: 10.1111/jora.12402 -
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Jul 2006Natural hormones and some synthetic chemicals spread into our surrounding environment share the capacity to interact with hormone action and metabolism. Exposure to such... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
Natural hormones and some synthetic chemicals spread into our surrounding environment share the capacity to interact with hormone action and metabolism. Exposure to such compounds can cause a variety of developmental and reproductive detrimental abnormalities in wildlife species and, potentially, in human. Many experimental and epidemiological data have reported that exposure of the developing fetus or neonate to environmentally relevant concentrations of some among these endocrine disrupters induces morphological, biochemical and/or physiological disorders in brain and reproductive organs, by interfering with the hormone actions. The impact of such exposures on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and subsequent sexual maturation is the subject of the present review. We will highlight epidemiological human studies and the effects of early exposure during gestational, perinatal or postnatal life in female rodents.
Topics: Animals; Central Nervous System; Endocrine Disruptors; Estrogens; Female; Humans; Models, Biological; Peripheral Nervous System; Puberty; Reproduction; Rodentia; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 16720078
DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2006.04.002 -
The Journals of Gerontology. Series A,... Jul 2015We previously reported that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) was involved in coregulating female sexual maturation and longevity. To understand the underlying genetic...
We previously reported that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) was involved in coregulating female sexual maturation and longevity. To understand the underlying genetic mechanisms, based on the strain survey assays of development and aging traits, we crossed two mouse strains, KK/HIJ and PL/J, and produced 307 female F2 mice. We observed the age of vaginal patency (AVP) and the life span of these females. We also measured circulating IGF1 level at 7, 16, 24, 52, and 76 weeks. IGF1 level at 7 weeks significantly correlated with AVP. IGF1 levels at ages of 52 and 76 weeks negatively correlated with longevity (p ≤ .05). A gene mapping study found 22, 4 ,and 3 quantitative trait loci for IGF1, AVP, and life span, respectively. Importantly, the colocalization of IGF1, AVP, and life span quantitative trait loci in the distal region of chromosome 2 suggests this locus carries gene(s) that could regulate IGF1, AVP, and life span. In this region, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 2 has been found to be associated with female sexual maturation in a human genome-wide association study. We verified the roles of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 2 in regulating IGF1 and AVP by showing that depletion of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 2 significantly reduced IGF1 and delayed AVP in mice, suggesting that it also might be involved in the regulation of aging.
Topics: Animals; Chromosome Mapping; Female; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; Lod Score; Longevity; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Proprotein Convertase 2; Quantitative Trait Loci; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 25070661
DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glu114 -
Mediators of Inflammation 2016Adipokines are cytokines produced mainly by adipose tissue, besides many other tissues such as placenta, ovaries, peripheral-blood mononuclear cells, liver, muscle,... (Review)
Review
Adipokines are cytokines produced mainly by adipose tissue, besides many other tissues such as placenta, ovaries, peripheral-blood mononuclear cells, liver, muscle, kidney, heart, and bone marrow. Adipokines play a significant role in the metabolic syndrome and in cardiovascular diseases, have implications in regulating insulin sensitivity and inflammation, and have significant effects on growth and reproductive function. The objective of this review was to analyze the functions known today of adiponectin, leptin, resistin, and visfatin from placenta throughout childhood and adolescence. It is well known now that their serum concentrations during pregnancy and lactation have long-term effects beyond the fetus and newborn. With regard to puberty, adipokines are involved in the regulation of the relationship between nutritional status and normal physiology or disorders of puberty and altered gonadal function, as, for example, premature pubarche and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Cytokines are involved in the maturation of oocytes and in the regular progression of puberty and pregnancy.
Topics: Adipokines; Animals; Female; Humans; Placenta; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Pregnancy; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 27746590
DOI: 10.1155/2016/4981916 -
Nutrients Nov 2021Pesticide residues are largely found in daily consumed food because of their extensive use in farming and their long half-life, which prolongs their presence in the... (Review)
Review
Pesticide residues are largely found in daily consumed food because of their extensive use in farming and their long half-life, which prolongs their presence in the environment. Many of these pesticides act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals after pre- or postnatal exposure, significantly affecting, among other things, the time of puberty onset, progression, and completion. In humans, precocious or delayed puberty, and early or delayed sexual maturation, may entail several negative long-term health implications. In this review, we summarize the current evidence on the impact of endocrine-disrupting pesticides upon the timing of the landmarks of female and male puberty in both animals (vaginal opening, first estrus, and balanopreputial separation) and humans (thelarche, menarche, gonadarche). Moreover, we explore the possible mechanisms of action of the reviewed endocrine-disrupting pesticides on the human reproductive system. Access to safe, healthy, and nutritious food is fundamental for the maintenance of health and wellbeing. Eliminating the presence of hazardous chemicals in largely consumed food products may increase their nutritional value and be proven beneficial for overall health. Consequently, understanding the effects of human exposure to hazardous endocrine-disrupting pesticides, and legislating against their circulation, are of major importance for the protection of health in vulnerable populations, such as children and adolescents.
Topics: Adolescent; Agriculture; Animals; Dietary Exposure; Endocrine Disruptors; Environmental Pollutants; Female; Humans; Male; Pesticides; Puberty; Sexual Maturation; Young Adult
PubMed: 34836437
DOI: 10.3390/nu13114184 -
Seminars in Reproductive Medicine Jul 2019The factors that trigger human puberty are among the central mysteries of reproductive biology. Several approaches, including mutational analysis of candidate genes,... (Review)
Review
The factors that trigger human puberty are among the central mysteries of reproductive biology. Several approaches, including mutational analysis of candidate genes, large-scale genome-wide association studies, whole exome sequencing, and whole genome sequencing have been performed in attempts to identify novel genetic factors that modulate the human hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis to result in premature sexual development. Genetic abnormalities involving excitatory and inhibitory pathways regulating gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion, represented by the kisspeptin ( and ) and makorin ring finger 3 () systems, respectively, have been associated with sporadic and familial cases of central precocious puberty (CPP). More recently, paternally inherited genetic defects of were identified in four families with nonsyndromic CPP and a metabolic phenotype. encodes a transmembrane protein that is important for adipose tissue homeostasis and neurogenesis and is located in the imprinted chromosome 14q32 region associated with Temple syndrome. In this review, we highlight the clinical and genetic features of patients with CPP caused by mutations and explore the involvement of Notch signaling and DLK1 in the control of pubertal onset.
Topics: Age Factors; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Genome-Wide Association Study; Humans; Membrane Proteins; Puberty; Receptors, Notch; Sexual Maturation; Signal Transduction; Time Factors
PubMed: 31972862
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-3400963 -
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and... Jan 2018Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-aged women and the main cause of infertility due to anovulation. However, this... (Review)
Review
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-aged women and the main cause of infertility due to anovulation. However, this syndrome spans the lives of women affecting them from in-utero life until death, leading to several health risks that can impair quality of life and increase morbidity and mortality rates. Fetal programming may represent the beginning of the condition characterized by hyperandrogenism and insulin resistance which leads to a series of medical consequences in adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Menstrual and fertility problems evolve into metabolic complications as age advances. An early and precise diagnosis is important for an adequate management of PCOS, especially at the extreme ends of the reproductive lifespan. However, many different phenotypes are included under the same condition, being important to look at these different phenotypes separately, as they may require different treatments and have different consequences. In this way, PCOS exhibits a great metabolic complexity and its diagnosis needs to be revised once again and adapted to recent data obtained by new technologies. According to the current medical literature, lifestyle therapy constitutes the first step in the management, especially when excess body weight is associated. Pharmacotherapy is frequently used to treat the most predominant manifestations in each age group, such as irregular menses and hirsutism in adolescence, fertility problems in adulthood, and metabolic problems and risk of cancer in old age. Close surveillance is mandatory in each stage of life to avoid health risks which may also affect the offspring, since fetal and post-natal complications seem to be increased in PCOS women.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Female; Growth and Development; Humans; Middle Aged; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome; Reproduction; Sexual Maturation; Young Adult
PubMed: 28951977
DOI: 10.1007/s10815-017-1047-7 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023
Topics: Humans; Sexual Maturation; Hypogonadism; Epigenesis, Genetic
PubMed: 37008930
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1178888 -
Obesity Research Sep 2004To describe associations between sexual maturation and body composition in a sample of African-American girls who were participants in phase 1 pilot interventions of the... (Clinical Trial)
Clinical Trial
OBJECTIVE
To describe associations between sexual maturation and body composition in a sample of African-American girls who were participants in phase 1 pilot interventions of the Girls Health Enrichment Multisite Studies.
RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Stature, weight, and waist circumference were measured. Pubic hair and breast development were assessed, and body composition was measured by DXA for 147 African-American girls who were 8 to 10 years of age from three field centers. Participants had BMI > or =25th percentile for age (one site) or BMI > or =50th percentile for age.
RESULTS
Girls Health Enrichment Multisite Studies girls had greater BMI, fat mass, and percentage body fat than national norms and relatively earlier initiation of breast development and pubic hair. Increasing stages of breast development, but not stages of pubic hair, were related to increased stature, waist circumference, BMI, lean mass, fat mass, and percentage of body fat. Pubescent girls (breast stage > or = 2) were greater than six times as likely to be classified as at risk of overweight (BMI > or = 85th percentile) and greater than eight times as likely to be classified as overweight (BMI > or = 95th percentile) as prepubescent counterparts. Adjusted odds ratios for advanced breast development [breast stage > or = 2 (8 years) or > or = 3 (9 and 10 years)] were 3.6 for risk of overweight and for overweight compared to girls with average or less than average breast development.
DISCUSSION
Sexual maturation is important to consider in understanding the classification of overweight and the development of obesity during adolescence. Breast development and pubic hair development should be considered separately for their associations with growth and body composition.
Topics: Black or African American; Body Composition; Breast; Child; Female; Hair; Humans; Obesity; Pilot Projects; Puberty, Precocious; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 15489469
DOI: 10.1038/oby.2004.270