Relationship of Sex Hormones to Bone Geometric Properties and Mineral Density in Early Pubertal Girls

• Published in: The journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism Vol. 89; no. 4; pp. 1698 - 1703
• Main Authors: Wang, Qingju, Nicholson, Patrick H. F., Suuriniemi, Miia, Lyytikäinen, Arja, Helkala, Erkki, Alen, Markku, Suominen, Harri, Cheng, Sulin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD Endocrine Society 01-04-2004; Copyright by The Endocrine Society
• Subjects: Absorptiometry, Photon; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Density; Child; Endocrinopathies; Estradiol - blood; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gonadal Steroid Hormones - blood; Humans; Medical sciences; Puberty, Precocious - diagnostic imaging; Puberty, Precocious - metabolism; Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin - analysis; Testosterone - blood; Tibia - diagnostic imaging; Tibia - metabolism; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Vertebrates: endocrinology; Human; Nutrition; Metabolic diseases; Early; Bone mineral density; Sex steroid hormone; Child; Endocrinology
• ISSN: 0021-972X; 1945-7197
• DOI: 10.1210/jc.2003-031113

This study aimed to evaluate the associations among serum 17β-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), bone geometric properties, and mineral density in 248 healthy girls between the ages of 10 and 13 yr old. The left tibial shaft was measured by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (Stratec XCT-2000; Stratec Medizintechnik, GmbH, Pforzheim, Germany). The cortical bone and marrow cavity areas were expressed as proportions of the total tibial cross-sectional area (CSA). Cortical thickness and total volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) were also determined. These tibial geometric and densitometric measures were correlated against the serum sex hormone concentrations after controlling for age and body size. The results showed that E2 was negatively associated with marrow cavity proportion (r = −0.19, P = 0.003) and positively associated with cortical proportion and thickness and with total vBMD (r = 0.26, P < 0.001; r = 0.25, P < 0.001; and r = 0.23, P < 0.001, respectively). However, T was not associated with these bone variables. On the other hand, SHBG was positively associated with marrow cavity proportion (r = 0.17, P = 0.007) and negatively associated with cortical proportion and thickness and with total vBMD (r = −0.14, P = 0.029; r = −0.16, P = 0.010; and r = −0.18, P = 0.005, respectively). Total bone CSA did not correlate with E2, T, or SHBG. These results suggest that E2 has a positive effect on bone geometric and densitometric development by suppressing bone turnover at the endocortical surface during the early pubertal period, that SHBG plays an opposite role to E2, and that T has no detectable effect.