The relationship of plasma gonadotrophins and steroid concentrations to body growth in girls

Abstract

Plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17\g=a\-OHP),17\g=b\-oestradiol (Oe2) and progesterone (P) were measured in 352 healthy girls aged 6.0 to 15.9 years, as a function of age (CA), weight, height and calculated lean body mass (LBM) and total body fat (TBF). The earliest hormonal changes were a fall in mean plasma FSH concentrations together with a small but significant rise in plasma Oe2 well in advance of any sign of pubertal development. The next changes were a progressive rise in plasma FSH and 17\g=a\-OHPconcentrations without further increments in plasma Oe2 ; these changes corresponded to a mean body weight of 29.8 kg, a mean height of 132.0 cm (initiation of the adolescent growth spurt), a mean LBM of 24.7 kg and a mean TBF of 5.1 kg. The last events were a progressive rise in plasma LH and Oe2 and less marked in P, which occurred in association with a mean body weight of 40.0 kg, a mean height of 142.0 cm (time of peak velocity of weight and height gain), a mean LBM of 31.8 kg and a mean TBF of 9.1 kg. Significant quadratic equations were disclosed between plasma FSH and LH versus CA, weight, height and LBM, and a significant linear correlation was observed between each gonadotrophin and TBF. These results show an association, not necessarily causal, between a 'critical level' of body composition and hormonal changes at the start of the adolescent growth spurt, as well as with late hormonal events at the time of peak velocity in weight and height gain. On the other hand, LBM rather than TBF seems more closely associated with the initiation and progression of puberty.

Obesity and Sarcopenia after Menopause Are Reversed by Sex Hormone Replacement Therapy

“…Additionally, the somatotrophic effect of estrogen replacement is biologically plausible because estrogens are involved in growth. At menarche, increasing circulating levels of estradiol is the initial step, and possibly the triggering step, in the adolescent growth spurt (22). Postmenopausal estrogen therapy is associated with the release of growth hormone and various growth factors (23).…”

Changes in body composition at menopause—age, lifestyle or hormone deficiency?

“…27 At menarche, increasing circulating levels of oestradiol are one of the triggers of the adolescent growth spurt, and HRT is associated with release of growth hormone and increasing levels of growth factors. 28,29 High oestrogen levels in menstruating women and postmenopausal HRT users are linked to increased muscle strength. 30,31 Gain in skeletal muscle with HRT was also indirectly demonstrated in an older study measuring urinary creatinine excretion rate, a waste product of muscle metabolism.…”

Effect of Exercise and Physical Training on Menarche

“…This represents a percentage of total weight somewhere between 22 and 24%. [16][17][18] Recent hormonal studies suggest the association between a "critical level" of body composition and major hormonal events in boys and girls 19,20 regardless of a cause-effect relationship. The relationships in this study appeared to be more closely related in both sexes to lean body mass than to total body fat, although the two are undoubtedly closely related.…”