A Longitudinal Study of 24-hour Urinary Excretion Rates of LH, FSH, Sex Steroids, Creatinine and Hydroxyproline throughout Puberty

摘要

Body measurements, puberty ratings and 24-hour excretion rates of various substances have been recorded every 4 months for 7 years in 56 healthy boys and 45 healthy girls aged 9 to 16. Excretion rates have been analysed in relation to chronological age, peak height velocity (PHV) "age," menarcheal "age" and secondary sex character "age". A striking finding is that LH excretion, after rising to a peak value at 1 year after PHV, then declines, in both sexes, to nearly prepubertal values. FSH excretion declines simultaneously but to a lesser degree, and in males only. Hydroxyproline level peaks 6 months after PHV in both sexes, then sharply falls. Creatinine has a continuously high rate of increase from 1 year before to 2 years after PHV, showing that the muscle growth spurt continues after the skeletal spurt. The maximal increment of testosterone in males occurs just after PHV. The interrelationships between hormonal and morphological events in each child have been examined by curve-fitting techniques.