Prenatal Testosterone Exposure Is Linked to Sexually Dimorphic Changes in Body Composition in 7-Year-Old Children
Authors' conclusion
Boys exposed to higher prenatal levels of FT had higher fat mass, whereas no relation was seen in girls, suggesting a sex-specific susceptibility to prenatal testosterone exposure on child body composition.
Study context
- Population
- Mother-child pairs in the Odense Child Cohort (maternal polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), n = 101); maternal free testosterone (FT) calculated from total testosterone (TT) by mass spectrometry at gestational week 28; DXA body composition at age 7 yearsDXA, n = 897
- Participants
- 1,008 pairs
- Exposure
- Maternal third-trimester FT, by child sex
- Boysn = 520
- Outcome
- Body fat
- Follow-up
- Age 7 years
Methodological detailsOdense Child Cohort, mother-child pairs
- Odense Child Cohort
- Mother-child pairs
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Body fat (FMI) per doubling of maternal FT
Boys: increase in FMI per doubling of FT (P = .04)
4.2%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
BMI and BMI z score per doubling of maternal FT, boys · age 7 years
- Boys: increase in BMI (P = .05)
- 0.2
- Boys: increase in BMI z score (P = .04)
- 0.1
Original publication
Prenatal Testosterone Exposure Is Linked to Sexually Dimorphic Changes in Body Composition in 7-Year-Old Children. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. Published 11 February 2025. doi:10.
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