Higher Fruits and Vegetables and Less Red Meat Intake Lower Precocious Puberty Risk

Background & aims: The role of dietary intake on precocious puberty remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between the amount and frequency of dietary intake and the risk of precocious puberty in Chinese girls. Methods: In this case-control study, we enrolled 185 precocious puberty girls and 185 age-matched controls.Their dietary intake was assessed through a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Their sociodemographic and lifestyle data were collected. The associations between dietary intake and risk of precocious puberty were assessed by conditional logistic regression models. Results: Despite a higher weight and height of girls in the case group than in the control group, there was no statistical difference in BMI between the two groups (P=0.077). After multivariate adjustment, consuming higher amount of red meat was associated with higher precocious puberty risk [≥50g/day vs. <25g/day: OR (95% CI) = 2.74 (1.25, 6.02), P = 0.0121]. Compared with fruit intake frequency <7 times/week, consuming higher frequency of fruit was associated with lower precocious puberty risk [7-10 times/week: OR (95%CI) = 0.36 (0.14, 0.91); ≥10 times/week: OR (95%CI)= 0.21 (0.05, 0.94); P for trend = 0.024]. Furthermore, compared with vegetables intake <112.5 g/day, higher amount of vegetables intake was associated with lower risk of precocious puberty [112.5-240g/day: OR (95%CI) = 0.31 (0.12, 0.77); ≥240.0g/day: OR (95%CI) = 0.25 (0.11, 0.59); P for trend = 0.002]. Conclusion: Consuming more fruits and vegetables and less red meat could potentially reduce the risk of precocious puberty in Chinese girls.

The utility of serum inhibin B, anti-Müllerian hormone and insulin growth factor-1 in predicting a positive response to GnRH analogs for diagnosing central precocious puberty in girls

Objectives The use of inhibin B (INHB), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in differentiating central precocious puberty (CPP) from non-CPP was evaluated. Methods In total, 115 Chinese girls were recruited (CPP: 44, non-CPP: 71). The diagnostic performance of INHB, AMH and IGF-1 in differentiating CPP from non-CPP was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results INHB levels were higher in the CPP group than in the non-CPP group (55.56 ± 22.42 vs. 32.97 ± 15.59 pg/mL; p<0.001). AMH levels were similar in the CPP and non-CPP groups (6.63 ± 3.74 vs. 5.70 ± 3.15 pg/mL; p=0.158), and IGF-1 levels were much higher in the CPP group than in the non-CPP group (290.75 ± 79.78 vs. 200.10 ± 54.01 pg/mL; p<0.001). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was greatest for INHB (0.819, standard error (SE) 0.041), followed by IGF-1 (0.809, SE 0.047) and AMH (0.567, SE 0.057). Among the ROC curves including combinations of these parameters, the AUC for INHB + IGF-1 was 0.849 and that for INHB + AMH was 0.768. Conclusions Serum INHB and IGF-1 measurements could predict positive responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analog stimulation in girls with precocious puberty.

Age-specific reference intervals of serum anti-Müllerian hormone in Chinese girls

Background This study aimed to establish anti-Mullerian hormone age-specific reference intervals and determine the correlation between the anti-Mullerian hormone concentration and age, body mass index and concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormones and luteinizing hormone in healthy Chinese girls. Methods Serum anti-Mullerian hormone concentrations of 1702 healthy girls (0−12 years), recruited between March 2018 and December 2019, were determined using the Beckman Access 2 automated chemiluminescence immunoassay. Single-year-specific medians of anti-Mullerian hormone and effects of age, body mass index, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone on anti-Mullerian hormone concentration were analysed. Results The anti-Mullerian hormone median level continued increasing from birth, reached its peak at age 9 at 4.45 ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR] 2.58–6.90) and then gradually decreased. At age 12, the median reached 1.98 ng/mL (IQR 1.05–3.46). Age-specific reference intervals for anti-Mullerian hormone were established in healthy Chinese girls aged 0–12 years. Anti-Mullerian hormone concentrations showed a moderately positive correlation with age (r = 0.33, P < 0.001). In contrast, follicle-stimulating hormone (r = –0.29, P < 0.001) concentrations were weakly negatively correlated with the serum anti-Mullerian hormone concentration. Conclusion We established single-year-specific reference intervals for anti-Mullerian hormone in Chinese girls using the Beckman chemiluminescent platform. This reference range can help clinicians accurately understand anti-Mullerian hormone secretion in healthy girls and promote its clinical use.