Assessment of circulating sex steroid levels in prepubertal and pubertal boys and girls by a novel ultrasensitive gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method
Abstract
CONTEXT: Estrogens and androgens play key roles for pubertal onset and sexual maturation. Most currently used immunoassays are not sensitive enough to accurately measure the low circulating levels of sex steroids in children without any signs of puberty. However, this does not exclude that sex steroids have important biological roles in prepubertal children. OBJECTIVES: To accurately determine levels of sex steroid hormones and their metabolites in serum of healthy children before any physical signs of puberty and to evaluate possible sex differences. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Total (unconjugated plus conjugated) serum levels of 17beta-testosterone, 17alpha-testosterone, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, 5beta-dihydrotestosterone, androsterone, etiocholanolone, estradiol, and estrone measured by an ultrasensitive method based on gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in samples from 81 healthy schoolchildren (42 boys) without any signs of puberty. For comparison, 48 pubertal children were studied. RESULTS: 17beta-Estradiol levels in prepubertal boys were undetectable or extremely low (median < 3.7 pmol/liter), whereas levels in prepubertal girls were significantly higher (median 9.6 pmol/liter, P < 0.001). Among the older prepubertal children (>8 yr), girls had significantly higher androsterone (4.07 vs. 1.45 nmol/liter, P < 0.05), etiocholanolone (5.45 vs. 1.95 nmol/liter, P < 0.0001), 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (0.11 vs. <0.10 nmol/liter, P < 0.01), and 17beta-testosterone concentrations (0.69 vs. 0.47 nmol/liter, P < 0.05) compared with similarly aged prepubertal boys. CONCLUSION: Using an accurate and sensitive method, we found significantly higher levels of estrogens as well as androgen metabolites in prepubertal girls compared with age-matched boys. The higher prepubertal sex steroid levels in girls may contribute to their earlier onset of puberty including pubic hair development.
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Prior to puberty, there is no sex difference in circulating testosterone concentrations between boys and girls.
“Prior to puberty, there is no sex difference in circulating testosterone concentrations or athletic performance”
From Circulating Testosterone as the Hormonal Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance (2018) · cites this paper as [16]
Following puberty, testosterone production increases but remains <2 nmol/L in women, whereas in men testosterone production increases 20-fold (from 0.3 mg/d to 7 mg/d), leading to 15-fold higher circulating testosterone concentrations (15 vs 1 nmol/L).
“Following puberty, testosterone production increases (16) but remains <2 nmol/L in women, whereas in men testosterone production increases 20-fold (from 0.3 mg/d to 7 mg/d), leading to 15-fold higher circulating testosterone concentrations (15 vs 1 nmol/L).”
From Circulating Testosterone as the Hormonal Basis of Sex Differences in Athletic Performance (2018) · cites this paper as [16]
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- Authors
- Courant, F., Aksglaede, L., Antignac, J.-P., Monteau, F., Sorensen, K., Andersson, A.-M., Skakkebaek, N. E., Juul, A., & Bizec, B. L.
- Affiliations
- Laboratoire d’Etude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments (LABERCA) (F.C., J.-P.A., F.M., B.L.B.), Unité Sous Contrat 2013 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Nantes, F-44307 Nantes, France
- Department of Growth and Reproduction (L.A., K.S., A.-M.A., N.E.S., A.J.), Copenhagen University Hospital, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Copenhagen University Hospital (DK)
- Venue
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Publisher
- The Endocrine Society
- Published
- 2010-01-01
- Volume
- 95
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 82-92
- ISSN
- 0021-972X (ISSN-L)
- 1945-7197
- OpenAlex
- W2160720198
- Cited by
- 172
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 11.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Hormonal and reproductive studies
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Sexual Differentiation and Disorders
- Keywords
- sex steroids, prepubertal children, puberty onset, sex differences, estradiol, androgens, androsterone, etiocholanolone, dihydrotestosterone, pubic hair development, pubertal timing
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Blood Chemical Analysis, Calibration, Child, Chromatography, Gas, Female, Humans, Male, Puberty, Sex Factors, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, Reproducibility of Results, Tandem Mass Spectrometry
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