Adrenal steroid hormones and metaphyseal bone in children.
OBJECTIVE
The responses of metaphyseal bone tissue to physiological variations of endogenous adrenal steroid hormones during childhood are unclear. Therefore, we studied potential hormonal influences in children before the appearance of pubic hair (onset of pubarche).


METHODS
Excretions of major glucocorticoid metabolites (C21), cortisol, sum of adrenarchal dehydroepiandrosterone and its immediate 16-hydroxylated metabolites (DHEA&M), and 5-androstene-3beta,17beta-diol (hermaphrodiol) were analyzed in a cross-sectional study in 24-hour urine samples of 109 healthy boys and girls, aged 6-13 years, using steroid profiling by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total and trabecular volumetric bone mineral densities, bone mineral content (BMC) and bone strength strain index were determined with peripheral quantitative computed tomography at the distal forearm.


RESULTS
In multiple regression analyses significant associations with the metaphyseal radius were seen for grip force, age, or BMI depending on gender and bone variable analyzed. DHEA&M did not contribute to the explanation of the variance of any bone variable. However, hermaphrodiol positively explained a significant part of variation of bone mineral densities, and BMC (p < 0.01) in girls. Significantly negative associations with all bone variables were seen in boys for cortisol.


CONCLUSIONS
The steroid hormones, cortisol and hermaphrodiol, in their physiological ranges, but not the adrenarche marker DHEA&M, appear to associate with metaphyseal bone in a sex-dependent manner during childhood.
Department of Nutrition and Health, Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dortmund, Germany. remer@fke-do.de
Thomas
T
Remer
Kai R
KR
Boye
Michaela F
MF
Hartmann
Christina
C
Neu
Eckhard
E
Schoenau
Friedrich
F
Manz
Stefan A
SA
Wudy
D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000652:urine*; D015519:Bone Density; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000652:urine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000652:urine; D008297:Male; D013256:Steroids / Q000652:urine
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D013256:Steroids; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D006854:Hydrocortisone