Exploring profiles of hormone exposure: Associations with cognition in a population‐based cohort of early adolescents

Abstract

AbstractDuring adolescence, increases in pubertal hormones lead to reproductive maturity as well as changes in cognitive development. Yet, little is known about how to best characterize interindividual differences in hormone concentrations. The goal of the current study was to examine the antecedents and consequences of membership in empirically derived hormone profiles. Data were drawn from 10,816 youth (48.1% female, Mage = 9.91, SDage = 0.63) in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Latent profile analysis (LPA) stratified by sex was used to derive hormone profiles using basal testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone and estradiol (girls only). Eight profiles (four female profiles and four male profiles) were identified. They primarily represented differences in hormone levels (e.g., low hormonal milieus vs. high hormonal milieus), but also reflected discordance (e.g., high estradiol versus. high testosterone). There were limited sociodemographic differences, particularly after correcting for multiple comparisons, but youth with higher hormone milieus exhibited better inhibitory control, visuospatial processing and decision‐making skills even after adjusting for age, pubertal status and demographic data. Thus, youth‐centered approaches that focus on patterns of individual characteristics suggest that hormonal markers may provide unique information about associations between biological and cognitive development.Highlights Latent profile analysis was used to derive constellations of testosterone, DHEA and estradiol (girls only) in a population sample of early adolescents. Hormonal milieus were indexed by four female and four male profiles, varying primarily in hormone levels (i.e., low, average or high hormonal milieus), but also exhibiting some discordance (i.e., high DHEA, high testosterone, or high estradiol). Higher pubertal status was typically associated with higher hormone levels, but pubertal status did not always differentiate between profiles that exhibited discordance. In general, youth in profiles with higher hormone levels had better inhibitory control, visuospatial processing and decision‐making skills 2 years later compared to those in profiles with lower hormone levels.