title: Association between left ventricular mass, androgens, adiposity and insulin resistance in girls with precocious pubarche: a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Precocious pubarche (PP) has been linked to higher prevalence of metabolic disturbances and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of the study was to assess echocardiographic parameters in PP girls and to analyse their relationship with androgens and insulin resistance (IR).
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five PP girls and 35 healthy age-matched controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical, hormonal and metabolic profiles, echocardiography, body composition and oral glucose tolerance test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chronological age (10·04 ± 2·6 years in PP vs 10·13 ± 2·56 years in controls, P = 0·227), and pubertal stage at the time of the study were similar between the groups. PP girls had higher free androgen index (FAI) [1·39 (0·48-3·64) vs 1·06 (0·39-1·7), P = 0·005] and QUICKI (0·58 ± 0·08 vs 0·63 ± 0·12, P = 0·021). However, HOMA-IR was not significantly different between the groups [2·79 (1·84-4·05) vs 2·15 (1·09-3·23), P = 0·085]. After adjusting for total body fat, left ventricular mass (LVM) was higher in the PP group (97·31 ± 33·37 vs 81·25 ± 19·06 g, P = 0·017) as well as A' wave (5·66 ± 1·34 vs 5·09 ± 0·98 cm/s, P = 0·025), a measurement of diastolic function. FAI and total body fat were independent predictors of higher LVM and together with HOMA-IR contributed 72% of LVM variability in the PP group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study with PP girls, greater LVM, associated with higher androgen levels, IR and total body fat, occurred early in pubertal development.
authors.affiliation: Gynecological Endocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabíola
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Satler
authors.affiliation: Gynecological Endocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raquel do Amaral
authors.initials: Rdo A
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cardiology, Cardiology University Foundation, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cora
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Firpo
authors.affiliation: Gynecological Endocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, Brazil.|Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology, Department of Physiology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Poli Mara
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Spritzer
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000293:Adolescent; D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism*; D001823:Body Composition; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D016014:Linear Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D006728:Hormones