Prospective and Descriptive Study on Serum Androstenedione Concentration in Healthy Children from Birth until 18 Years of Age and Its Associated Factors. (16th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ballerini, María Gabriela; Gaido, Virginia; Rodríguez, María Eugenia; Chiesa, Ana; Ropelato, María Gabriela
• Other Names: Kushnir Mark M. Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: Disease markers. Volume 2017(2017)
• Publication Date: 2017-05-16
• Subjects: Diagnosis -- Periodicals; Biochemical markers -- Periodicals; Pathology -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1155/2017/9238304
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0278-0240

Abstract

Abstract : Introduction . Androstenedione (A4) is an adrenal and gonadal steroid biomarker, useful in the assessment of children in whom steroidogenic disorders are suspected. The first key step in the evaluation of a diagnostic test resides on confident reference intervals (RI). The lack of updated A4-RI with current methods in pediatrics may mislead A4 results and limit its diagnosis accuracy. Aim . To provide A4 reference ranges in healthy children. Methods . Prospective, descriptive study. 283 children aged 4 days to 18 years were included. In c h i l d r e n < 1 y r, A4 was measured directly in serum (NE-A4) and postorganic solvent extraction (E-A4) for the assessment of interfering steroids. The influence of chronological age (CA), gender, and Tanner stage (T) were investigated. Results . In the neonatal period, E-A4 was significantly lower than NE-A4; boys had higher NE-A4; sexual dimorphism disappeared after extraction procedure. In children older than 4 months, A4 concentration remained low until the age of 5 years. Thereafter, A4 increased significantly in association with CA and T (r 2 = 0.65 ; p < 0.001 ), obtaining the highest concentrations in children within pubertal ages without sexual dimorphism. Conclusion . We recommend to perform solvent extraction in neonates and to take into account age and sexual development to properly interpret A4 results in childhood.