Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.

<h4>Purpose</h4>Pubertal 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 durin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ammar Khairullah, Laura Cousino Klein, Suzanne M Ingle, Margaret T May, Courtney A Whetzel, Elizabeth J Susman, Tomáš Paus
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108838
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850124877460144128
author Ammar Khairullah
Laura Cousino Klein
Suzanne M Ingle
Margaret T May
Courtney A Whetzel
Elizabeth J Susman
Tomáš Paus
author_facet Ammar Khairullah
Laura Cousino Klein
Suzanne M Ingle
Margaret T May
Courtney A Whetzel
Elizabeth J Susman
Tomáš Paus
author_sort Ammar Khairullah
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Purpose</h4>Pubertal 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.<h4>Methods</h4>We 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.<h4>Results</h4>The 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.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The average exposure to testosterone is a useful measure for future investigations using testosterone trajectories to examine pubertal dynamics.
format Article
id doaj-art-ddc8f7d8269f4c07abdb8a2e959ba449
institution OA Journals
issn 1932-6203
language English
publishDate 2014-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-ddc8f7d8269f4c07abdb8a2e959ba4492025-08-20T02:34:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0199e10883810.1371/journal.pone.0108838Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.Ammar KhairullahLaura Cousino KleinSuzanne M IngleMargaret T MayCourtney A WhetzelElizabeth J SusmanTomáš Paus<h4>Purpose</h4>Pubertal 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.<h4>Methods</h4>We 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.<h4>Results</h4>The 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.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The average exposure to testosterone is a useful measure for future investigations using testosterone trajectories to examine pubertal dynamics.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108838
spellingShingle Ammar Khairullah
Laura Cousino Klein
Suzanne M Ingle
Margaret T May
Courtney A Whetzel
Elizabeth J Susman
Tomáš Paus
Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.
PLoS ONE
title Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.
title_full Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.
title_fullStr Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.
title_full_unstemmed Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.
title_short Testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents.
title_sort testosterone trajectories and reference ranges in a large longitudinal sample of male adolescents
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108838
work_keys_str_mv AT ammarkhairullah testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents
AT lauracousinoklein testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents
AT suzannemingle testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents
AT margarettmay testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents
AT courtneyawhetzel testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents
AT elizabethjsusman testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents
AT tomaspaus testosteronetrajectoriesandreferencerangesinalargelongitudinalsampleofmaleadolescents