Hyperandrogenism in adolescent girls: relationship with the somatotrophic axis

María Isabel Hernandez; Patricia López; Ximena Gaete; Claudio Villarroel; Gabriel Cavada; Alejandra Avila; German Iñiguez; Fernando Cassorla

doi:10.1515/jpem-2016-0340

Article

Hyperandrogenism in adolescent girls: relationship with the somatotrophic axis

María Isabel Hernandez , Patricia López , Ximena Gaete , Claudio Villarroel , Gabriel Cavada , Alejandra Avila , German Iñiguez and Fernando Cassorla

Published/Copyright: April 29, 2017

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From the journal Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 30 Issue 5

Abstract

Background:

During puberty there is a physiologic increase in adrenal and ovarian androgens. It has been suggested that the somatotrophic axis may be related to the development of hyperandrogenism and anovulation in non-obese adult women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The objective of the study was to investigate whether ovarian androgen secretion in young postmenarchal girls is related to the function of their somatotropic axis.

Methods:

This was a cross-sectional study of adolescent girls. We studied non-obese adolescent girls with hyperandrogenism (HA; n = 21) matched with control girls (C; n = 25) for chronological age, age at menarche and body mass index. We obtained a fasting blood sample for measurement of serum glucose, insulin, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OH-Prog), dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), androstenedione, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), total testosterone, IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-1, IGFBP-3, ghrelin, leptin, AMH (antiMüllerian hormone), luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) during the follicular phase of the menstrual period. We performed an oral glucose tolerance test to determine blood glucose, insulin and ghrelin levels and urine samples to measure urinary GH (growth hormone) levels.

Results:

As expected, the hyperandrogenic girls had significantly higher Ferriman scores, basal total testosterone, free androgen index (FAI), androstenedione, AMH, and basal LH levels compared with the girls in controls. Serum IGF-I, IGF-II, IGFBP-3 and urinary GH did not differ between HA and C. There was a correlation between urinary GH and FAI in all girls (r 0.29, p < 0.05). In addition, in HA girls FAI correlated with insulin, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) and ghrelin.

Conclusions:

We observed a correlation between urinary GH and FAI in the hyperandrogenic and control girls, suggesting that the function of the somatotrophic axis may influence the secretion of androgens in adolescent girls.

Keywords: adolescents; growth factors; hyperandrogenism

Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. Carolina Valdes, Carolina Sepúlveda, Patricio Romero, Paulina Merino, Josefina Bollman and Marta Arriaza for referring patients for this study.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
Research funding: This work was supported by FONDECYT grant 11121427.
Employment or leadership: None declared.
Honorarium: None declared.
Competing interests: The funding organisation(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

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Received: 2016-8-28

Accepted: 2017-3-6

Published Online: 2017-4-29

Published in Print: 2017-5-1

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2016-0340

Keywords for this article

adolescents; growth factors; hyperandrogenism