Urinary Gonadotropins as Markers of Puberty in Girls and Boys During Late Childhood and Adolescence: Evidence From the SCAMP Cohort
Authors' conclusion
An increase in urinary LH:FSH ratio is associated with an increase in self-reported pubertal development in adolescent girls and represents a valid noninvasive biomarker of puberty in population studies.
Study context
- Population
- School-based adolescents aged 11–16 years (SCAMP cohort) with school-time urine samples and self-reported puberty (Pubertal Development Scale (PDS))741 girls · 899 boys
- Participants
- 741 vs 899
- Exposure
- Girls vs Boys
- Girlsn = 741
- Boysn = 899
- Outcome
- Utility of urinary LH:FSH ratio (creatinine-corrected) as a noninvasive biomarker of puberty
Methodological detailsschool-based, two time points ≈2 years apart, FSH and LH measured by two-site sandwich immunoassay, corrected for creatinine excretion
- School-based
- Two time points ≈2 years apart
- FSH and LH measured by two-site sandwich immunoassay, corrected for creatinine excretion
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Annual change in uLH:FSH ratio
Girls
+0.028
95% CI 0.021–0.035 · per year
Boys
+0.035
95% CI 0.027–0.043 · per year
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Girls |
|---|---|
| Correlation of uLH:FSH ratio with self-reported pubertal development (samples within 90 days of a PDS) | |
| R, breast development | 0.29 |
| R, menarchal status | 0.35 |
| R, composite PDS score | 0.39 |
| R, PDS-derived pubertal categories | 0.45 |
- Correlation of uLH:FSH ratio with self-reported pubertal development (samples within 90 days of a PDS): subgroup: 59 samples from girls, 233 samples from boys
Correlation of uLH:FSH ratio with self-reported pubertal development (samples within 90 days of a PDS)
- Boys: negligible correlations with self-reported pubertal development, PDS composite score and PDS-derived categories
Original publication
Urinary Gonadotropins as Markers of Puberty in Girls and Boys During Late Childhood and Adolescence: Evidence From the SCAMP Cohort. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). Published 1 October 2025. doi:10.
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