Abstract
PurposePubertal dynamics plays an important role in physical and psychological development of children and adolescents. We aim to provide reference ranges of plasma testosterone in a large longitudinal sample. Furthermore, we describe a measure of testosterone trajectories during adolescence that can be used in future investigations of development.MethodsWe carried out longitudinal measurements of plasma testosterone in 2,216 samples obtained from 513 males (9 to 17 years of age) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We used integration of a model fitted to each participant’s testosterone trajectory to calculate a measure of average exposure to testosterone over adolescence. We pooled these data with corresponding values reported in the literature to provide a reference range of testosterone levels in males between the ages of 6 and 19 years.ResultsThe average values of total testosterone in the ALSPAC sample range from 0.82 nmol/L (Standard Deviation [SD]: 0.09) at 9 years of age to 16.5 (SD: 2.65) nmol/L at 17 years of age; these values are congruent with other reports in the literature. The average exposure to testosterone is associated with different features of testosterone trajectories such as Peak Testosterone Change, Age at Peak Testosterone Change, and Testosterone at 17 years of age as well as the timing of the growth spurt during puberty.ConclusionsThe average exposure to testosterone is a useful measure for future investigations using testosterone trajectories to examine pubertal dynamics.
Highlights
Puberty and adolescence are intertwined [1]
Review of Published Data To compare our results with the published values of testosterone, we reviewed the literature and included studies that reported either a mean or a median for values of total testosterone measured from plasma or serum samples in males between the ages of 6 and 20 years
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): Comparing the full cohort and the subsample The supplementary table (Table S1) shows a comparison between the subsample of 513 males included in this study and the rest of the ALSPAC males who survived to at least 1 year of age (n = 7024)
Summary
Puberty (activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis) and adolescence (maturation of adult social and cognitive behaviours) are intertwined [1]. The activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis stimulates the male testes and, in turn, increases production of testosterone [5,6]. Testosterone is a sex steroid that plays a critical role in numerous pubertal processes, including genital growth [7], change in body composition [8], and maturation of the brain [9,10]. Given testosterone’s crucial role in puberty, its dynamics may be driving associations previously ascribed to pubertal timing and tempo [4], underscoring the importance of studying testosterone trajectories in relation to healthy and abnormal development
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