Tracking of Serum DHEAS Concentrations from Age 1 to 6 Years: A Prospective Cohort Study

Jani Liimatta; Jarmo Jääskeläinen; Anne M Karvonen; Sami Remes; Raimo Voutilainen; Juha Pekkanen

doi:10.1210/jendso/bvaa012

Tracking of Serum DHEAS Concentrations from Age 1 to 6 Years: A Prospective Cohort Study

J Endocr Soc. 2020 Feb 1;4(2):bvaa012. doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvaa012.

Authors

Jani Liimatta^{1

2}, Jarmo Jääskeläinen^{1

2}, Anne M Karvonen³, Sami Remes^{1

2}, Raimo Voutilainen^{1

2}, Juha Pekkanen^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
² Department of Pediatrics, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
³ Department of Health Security, National Institute of Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland.
⁴ Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Abstract

Context: Adrenarche is a gradual process, but its programming is unknown.

Objective: The objective of this article is to examine the trajectory of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) from age 1 to 6 years and the associations of early growth with DHEAS concentration by age 6 years.

Design and participants: Longitudinal data from a population sample of 78 children (43 girls) with serum samples for DHEAS and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) measurements available at ages 1 and 6 years.

Main outcome measure: Serum DHEAS concentration at age 6 years.

Results: DHEAS concentration at age 1 year correlated with DHEAS concentration at age 6 years (r = 0.594, P < .001). DHEAS levels at age 6 years increased with tertiles of DHEAS at age 1 year (medians (µg/dL); 4.2, 14.4, 22.6; P < .001) and with those of greater increase in length by age 1 year (6.0, 11.7, 16.4; P = .047), and decreased with tertiles of birth length (17.7, 13.3, 7.1; P = .042). In a regression model including birth size, biochemical covariates at age 1 year, and growth measures by age 6 years, higher DHEAS concentration at age 1 year was an independent determinant of falling into the highest DHEAS tertile at age 6 years.

Conclusions: Higher serum DHEAS concentrations already at age 1 year are associated with those at age 6 years. Also, shorter birth length and rapid catch-up growth in length by age 1 year are associated with higher DHEAS concentrations at age 6 years. These results corroborate the early origin of adrenarche and strongly suggest that part of adrenarchal programming already takes place by the end of infancy.

Keywords: adrenarche; birth size; dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; growth; insulin-like growth factor 1.