Home Medicine A pilot study on the utility of reduced urine collection frequency protocols for the assessment of reproductive hormones in adolescent girls
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A pilot study on the utility of reduced urine collection frequency protocols for the assessment of reproductive hormones in adolescent girls

  • Heather C.M. Allaway , Esther M. John , Theresa H. Keegan and Mary Jane De Souza EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: September 26, 2017
Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism
From the journal Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 30 Issue 10

Abstract

Background:

The objectives of this study were to assess the feasibility of and compliance to collecting urine samples in pre- and postmenarcheal girls and to determine if a less than daily collection frequency was sufficient for assessing ovarian function.

Methods:

Twenty-five postmenarcheal girls (11–17 years) collected samples using either a two or a three samples/week protocol during one menstrual cycle. Exposure and mean estrone-1-glucuronide (E1G) and pregnanediol glucuronide concentrations were calculated, and evidence of luteal activity (ELA) was evaluated. Sixteen premenarcheal girls (8–11 years) collected one sample/month for six consecutive months. Samples were analyzed for E1G concentration. Participant compliance was calculated using dates on the urine samples and paper calendars.

Results:

Participants collecting three samples/week were more compliant to the protocol than those collecting two samples/week (83.6%±2.6% vs. 66.8%±6.6%; p=0.034). There were no differences (p>0.10) regarding paper calendar return (81.8%±12.2% vs. 92.9%±7.1%), recording menses (55.6%±17.6% vs. 92.3%±7.7%) or sample collection (88.9%±11.1% vs. 84.6%±10.4%) between the two protocols. The average cycle length was 30.5±1.3 days and 32% of cycles had ELA. The premenarcheal girls were 100% compliant to the protocol. Only 68.8% of participants returned the paper calendar and 81.8% of those participants recorded sample collection. The average E1G concentration was 15.9±3.8 ng/mL.

Conclusions:

Use of a less than daily collection frequency during one menstrual cycle in postmenarcheal, adolescent girls is feasible and provides informative data about ovarian function. Collection of one sample/month in premenarcheal girls is feasible and detects the expected low E1G concentrations. Alternate strategies to the use of a paper calendar should be considered.

Keywords: epidemiology; estrone-1-glucuronide; menarche; pregnanediol glucuronide; reproductive hormone analysis
Corresponding author: Mary Jane De Souza, PhD, Women’s Health and Exercise Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA, Phone: 814-863-0045, Fax: 814-865-4602

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the participants whose dedication to sample collection was invaluable for the completion of this analysis.

  1. Author contributions: HCMA was responsible for analysis design, data analysis and interpretation, and manuscript writing. MJD and EMJ designed the studies and assisted in data interpretation. MJD supervised the design of the analyses and writing of the manuscript. THK and EMJ obtained study approvals, supervised data collection and analyses, and participated in manuscript revision. All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  2. Research funding: This work was supported by a 2013 Stanford Cancer Institute Developmental Cancer Research Award (to EMJ). The California site of the LEGACY Girls Study was funded by R01 CA138638 from the National Cancer Institute (to EMJ).

  3. Employment or leadership: None declared.

  4. Honorarium: None declared.

  5. Competing interests: The funding organization(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: 2017-1-31
Accepted: 2017-8-12
Published Online: 2017-9-26
Published in Print: 2017-10-26

©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2017-0050
Keywords for this article
epidemiology; estrone-1-glucuronide; menarche; pregnanediol glucuronide; reproductive hormone analysis

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Review
  3. Individualised growth response optimisation (iGRO) tool: an accessible and easy-to-use growth prediction system to enable treatment optimisation for children treated with growth hormone
  4. Original Articles
  5. Relation of insulin resistance to neurocognitive function and electroencephalography in obese children
  6. Body weight misperception and health-related factors among Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-V study
  7. Do sufficient vitamin D levels at the end of summer in children and adolescents provide an assurance of vitamin D sufficiency at the end of winter? A cohort study
  8. Type 3 renal tubular acidosis associated with growth hormone deficiency
  9. Serum α-klotho levels are not informative for the evaluation of growth hormone secretion in short children
  10. Evaluation of neurodevelopment of children with congenital hypothyroidism by the Denver Developmental Screening Test
  11. Pediatric differentiated thyroid carcinoma: trends in practice and outcomes over 40 years at a single tertiary care institution
  12. Physical activity and bone mineral density at the femoral neck subregions in adolescents with Down syndrome
  13. A pilot study on the utility of reduced urine collection frequency protocols for the assessment of reproductive hormones in adolescent girls
  14. MODY in Ukraine: genes, clinical phenotypes and treatment
  15. A retrospective review of initial bisphosphonate infusion in an inpatient vs. outpatient setting for bisphosphonate naïve patients
  16. Molecular genetic and clinical delineation of 22 patients with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
  17. Letter to the Editor
  18. Rare cases of galactose metabolic disorders: identification of more than two mutations per patient
  19. Case Reports
  20. When one disease is not enough: succinyl-CoA: 3-oxoacid coenzyme A transferase (SCOT) deficiency due to a novel mutation in OXCT1 in an infant with known phenylketonuria
  21. Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1B associated with assisted reproductive technology
  22. Long QT syndrome diagnosed in two sisters with propionic acidemia: a case report
  23. Delayed diagnosis of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) deficiency with type 1 diabetes in a 9-year-old girl and her infant sibling
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