Gender-specific alterations in salivary cortisol levels in pubertal intracytoplasmic sperm injection offspring.
BACKGROUND
There is accumulating evidence that in vitro conception in humans may be associated with adverse health outcomes later in life. It has been proposed that suboptimal early life conditions may 'program' key endocrine systems. A disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis leading to alterations in cortisol secretion in the offspring may be such a mechanism. To date, no data on cortisol levels in children conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are available in the literature.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, salivary cortisol known as a key regulator of metabolism was measured and results were compared between 201 pubertal ICSI children and 196 spontaneously conceived (SC) counterparts.


RESULTS
ICSI females had lower mean salivary cortisol levels (9.0 µg/l; 95% CI 8.1-9.9) than SC females (10.6 µg/l; 95% CI 9.7-11.5; p = 0.01). This difference remained after adjusting for current characteristics, early life factors and maternal characteristics. In ICSI males, no difference in cortisol levels was found in comparison with the SC group.


CONCLUSIONS
In our study, 14-year-old female but not male ICSI teenagers were found to have lower salivary cortisol concentrations in comparison with SC peers. However, before definite conclusions can be drawn, our results should be completed by longitudinal sampling.
Center for Medical Genetics, UZ Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
F
F
Belva
R C
RC
Painter
J
J
Schiettecatte
M
M
Bonduelle
M
M
Roelants
T J
TJ
Roseboom
H
H
Tournaye
J
J
De Schepper
D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011627:Puberty / Q000378:metabolism*; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic
D006854:Hydrocortisone