TY - JOUR
T1 - Prenatal testosterone exposure is linked to sexually dimorphic changes in body composition in 7-year-old children
AU - Palm, Camilla Viola Buskbjerg
AU - Grøntved, Anders
AU - Jensen, Dorte Møller
AU - Hansen, Freja Pelck
AU - Jørgensen, Jan Stener
AU - Christesen, Henrik Thybo
AU - Glintborg, Dorte
AU - Andersen, Marianne Skovsager
N1 - © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact [email protected]. See the journal About page for additional terms.
PY - 2025/2/11
Y1 - 2025/2/11
N2 - CONTEXT: Maternal free testosterone (FT) increases during 3rd trimester and FT is higher in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared to women without PCOS. Higher prenatal androgen exposure has previously been associated with increased catch-up growth in boys.OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between maternal 3rd trimester testosterone and body composition in boys and girls.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study comprised 1,008 mother-child pairs (boys, n=520) in Odense Child Cohort (maternal PCOS, n=101). Maternal FT was calculated from total testosterone (TT), analyzed by mass spectrometry at gestational week 28. Body composition assessments were performed in 7-year-old children by whole-body Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA, n=897, measuring body fat (fat mass index (FMI = fat mass(kg)/height(m)2), percentages of total fat mass, gynoid- and android fat mass) and lean body mass, bodyweight, body mass index (BMI and BMI z-scores), and abdominal circumference.MAIN OUTCOME: Body fat at 7 years of age.RESULTS: In boys, a doubling in FT was associated with a 4.2 % increase in FMI (p=0.04) and an increase in BMI and BMI z-score of 0.2 kg/m2 and 0.1 (p=0.05 and 0.04), respectively. In girls, no significant association was observed between maternal FT and body composition.CONCLUSION: Boys exposed to higher prenatal levels of FT had higher fat mass, whereas no relation was seen in girls; suggesting a sex specific susceptibility to prenatal testosterone exposure on child body composition.
AB - CONTEXT: Maternal free testosterone (FT) increases during 3rd trimester and FT is higher in pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared to women without PCOS. Higher prenatal androgen exposure has previously been associated with increased catch-up growth in boys.OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between maternal 3rd trimester testosterone and body composition in boys and girls.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This study comprised 1,008 mother-child pairs (boys, n=520) in Odense Child Cohort (maternal PCOS, n=101). Maternal FT was calculated from total testosterone (TT), analyzed by mass spectrometry at gestational week 28. Body composition assessments were performed in 7-year-old children by whole-body Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA, n=897, measuring body fat (fat mass index (FMI = fat mass(kg)/height(m)2), percentages of total fat mass, gynoid- and android fat mass) and lean body mass, bodyweight, body mass index (BMI and BMI z-scores), and abdominal circumference.MAIN OUTCOME: Body fat at 7 years of age.RESULTS: In boys, a doubling in FT was associated with a 4.2 % increase in FMI (p=0.04) and an increase in BMI and BMI z-score of 0.2 kg/m2 and 0.1 (p=0.05 and 0.04), respectively. In girls, no significant association was observed between maternal FT and body composition.CONCLUSION: Boys exposed to higher prenatal levels of FT had higher fat mass, whereas no relation was seen in girls; suggesting a sex specific susceptibility to prenatal testosterone exposure on child body composition.
U2 - 10.1210/clinem/dgaf085
DO - 10.1210/clinem/dgaf085
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39930633
SN - 0021-972X
JO - The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism
JF - The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism
ER -