The Effect of Females’ Reproductive Factors on Pituitary Gland Size in Women at Reproductive Age

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The brain imaging of the pituitary gland in females has shown a change in pituitary size and volume in the female's population. It has been proven that the pituitary gland is affected by pregnancy, giving birth, and hormone-related factors. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the factors which may have an impact on the pituitary size in females at reproductive age and compare the pituitary size in females with a history of pregnancy, those at the postpartum period, and nullipara females. Materials and Methods: This population-based study was conducted on 208 healthy women aged 12–55 years old. Participants underwent cranial Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and pituitary diameters (craniocaudal, anteroposterior, and transverse) and volume were measured for each subject. The correlation of age, gravity, parity, lactation, and intake of oral contraceptives with pituitary size were analyzed. Results: One-hundred and eighty females met the criteria for participation. The pituitary volume correlated negatively with hormone-related factors. The gravity (r = -0.35) and parity (r = -0.35) had significant negative effects on the pituitary volume (p < 0.001). The use of oral contraceptives and lactation were also in negative correlation with the pituitary volume (r = -0.20, p = 0.006, r = -0.56, p < 0.001, respectively). The craniocaudal diameter was also affected by gravity (r = -0.62), parity (r = -0.57), intake of contraceptives (r = -0.32), and lactation (r = -0.70), p < 0.001. The anteroposterior diameter of the pituitary gland associated significantly with gravity (r = -0.19, p = 0.009), parity (r = -0.20, p = 0.007), and lactation (r = -0.25, p = 0.001). The transverse diameter of the pituitary gland also related negatively with reproductive factors such as gravity (r = -0.15, p = 0.04), parity (r = -0.17, p = 0.02), and lactation (r = -0.17, p = 0.02). The pituitary gland of nullipara females was the greatest in size. Recent pregnancy led to increased craniocaudal and anteroposterior diameters. Conclusions: In this study, we found a negative effect of pregnancy and giving birth on pituitary size. Nullipara females were found to have the greatest pituitaries, even greater than the females in the postpartum period.

The Pituitary Gland Measurements in Sudanese Females using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

“…In our study, the nulliparous females had a larger PG than other groups of parity. This finding is consistent with Daghighi et al, (13) who stated that the gland's volume is greatest in nulliparous women.…”

“…There was an insignificant inverse correlation between the depth, the volume of PG with age, puberty, and parity. In contrast, Daghighi et al (13) found that gravidity and parity had a significant negative impact on PG volume (P<o.o1). The insignificant relationship in our study may be due to the small sample size.…”

Intracranial Effects of Microgravity: A Prospective Longitudinal MRI Study

“…In a study of 208 healthy women, chronic intake of oral contraceptives was associated with a minimal reduction in mean pituitary height (0.03 mm; P . .05) (24) and thus also unlikely to account for the 0.6-mm loss of mean pituitary height in our study. Chronic pituitary apoplexy is another potential cause of pituitary height loss (25) but has not been emphasized in the literature for astronauts.…”