A Normative Model of Serum Inhibin B in Young Males

PLoS One. 2016 Apr 14;11(4):e0153843. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153843. eCollection 2016.

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.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Biomarkers / blood
  • Blood Chemical Analysis / standards*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Inhibins / blood*
  • Male
  • Reference Values

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • inhibin B
  • Inhibins