title: A Normative Model of Serum Inhibin B in Young Males.
abstract: Inhibin B has been identified as a potential marker of Sertoli cell function in males. The aim of this study is to produce a normative model of serum inhibin B in males from birth to seventeen years. We used a well-defined search strategy to identify studies containing data that can contribute to a larger approximation of the healthy population. We combined data from four published studies (n = 709) and derived an internally validated model with high goodness-of-fit and normally distributed residuals. Our results show that inhibin B increases following birth to a post-natal peak of 270 pg/mL (IQR 210-335 pg/mL) and then decreases during childhood followed by a rise at around 8 years, peaking at a mean 305 pg/mL (IQR 240-445 pg/mL) at around age 17. Following this peak there is a slow decline to the standard mature adult normal range of 170 pg/mL (IQR 125-215 pg/mL). This normative model suggests that 35% of the variation in Inhibin B levels in young males is due to age alone, provides an age-specific reference range for inhibin B in the young healthy male population, and will be a powerful tool in evaluating the potential of inhibin B as a marker of Sertoli cell function in pre-pubertal boys.
authors.affiliation: School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9SX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8091-1458
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Kelsey
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rod T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology/Oncology, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh EH9 1LF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: W Hamish B
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Wallace
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007265:Inhibins / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C422364:inhibin B; D007265:Inhibins