Prolactin and Adrenal Androgens During Adrenarche
Authors' conclusion
Our observations confirm that 11KT is the dominant bioactive androgen in children during adrenarche and PremA. Prolactin levels are directly correlated to the concentrations of the adrenal bioactive androgens. Conditions or medications that increase prolactin concentrations during childhood could have a role in PremA.
Study context
- Population
- Prepubertal girls with normal birth weight from the Food and Environment Chilean Cohort, examined at 6.7 ± 0.6 years
- Participants
- 244 participants
- Exposure
- High DHEAS vs normal DHEAS prepubertal girls
- Outcome
- Association between DHEAS/11-oxygenated C19 steroids and prolactin concentrations
Methodological detailsLC-MS/MS steroid measurement
- LC-MS/MS steroid measurement
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Prolactin significantly associated with 11KA, even after adjustment by covariates
- p < 0.001
- Prolactin association with 11OHA in fully adjusted model, close to limit of significance
- p = 0.051
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HD | ND | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight SDsHigher with HD | 1.3 ± 1.2 | 0.7 ± 1.1 | P < 0.001 |
| Height SDsHigher with HD | 0.6 ± 1.0 | 0 ± 0.9 | P < 0.001 |
| BMI SDsHigher with HD | 1.3 ± 1.2 | 0.9 ± 1.1 | P < 0.01 |
11-oxygenated C19 steroids (ng/mL), higher with high DHEAS (HD)
- 11KA higher with HD by 16%
- 0.14 (0.12, 0.16) vs. 0.12 (0.10, 0.14)
- 11OHA higher with HD by 43%
- 0.07 (0.05, 0.08) vs. 0.04 (0.03, 0.05)
- 11KT higher with HD by 35%
- 0.19(0.15, 0.25) vs. 0.14 (0.11, 0.19)
- 11OHT higher with HD by 30%
- 0.03 (0.02, 0.05) vs. 0.03 (0.01, 0.04)
- HD vs normal DHEAS (ND)
Insulin (μUI/mL)
- Insulin did not differ in HD compared to ND (HD vs ND)
- 7.2 (5.7, 8.7) vs. 6.8 (5.3, −9.4)
DHEAS and 11-oxygenated C19 steroids
- DHEAS correlated with each 11-oxygenated C19 steroid in raw and fully adjusted models
Original publication
Prolactin and Adrenal Androgens During Adrenarche. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). Published 6 March 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →