title: Assessment of serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate in subjects during the pre-pubertal, pubertal, and adult stages of skeletal maturation.
abstract: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate serum levels of the hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), during the pre-pubertal, pubertal, and adult stages of skeletal maturation based on the methods of Björk and Grave and Brown of assessing hand-wrist radiographs. The levels of the DHEAS of each individual were measured using quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and correlated with the corresponding stages in their hand-wrist radiograph. This study was performed on 60 subjects (30 females and 30 males) aged from 7 to 30 years. Analysis of variance followed by a Tukey honestly significant difference test showed that the serum levels of the DHEAS were statistically significant at (P < 0.01) in all three groups. The serum levels were significant (P < 0.05) when each of the three groups were individually compared with the other two groups. The mean DHEAS levels were 0.43 ± 0.28, 2.17 ± 0.92, and 4.60 ± 1.34 μg/ml in the pre-pubertal, pubertal, and adult groups, respectively. There was a gradual increase in the hormonal level with progressing skeletal age. The adult group showed the highest DHEAS level and the pre-pubertal group the lowest. Serum levels of DHEAS showed a constant increase from pre-puberty to adulthood, and at the same level of skeletal maturation, both females and males had similar hormone levels. This finding highlights the fact that the hormone DHEAS plays a significant role and can be a valuable tool in assessing skeletal maturation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Sri Ramachandra Dental College, Porur, India.
authors.forename: Bhadrinath
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.forename: Sridhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Premkumar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001846:Bone Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D050276:Hand Bones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D011859:Radiography; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate