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Open access

Anne M Drewes, Maria E Møller, Rasmus Hertzum-Larsen, Gerda Engholm, and Hans H Storm

Introduction

Cancer registry data in the USA indicated that women diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40 were at increased risk of a new primary tumour within the brain and women aged 50 years or above were at lower risk than expected. Our aim was to investigate if similar results could be found in Danish population-based data, considering an explanatory role of hormonal status.

Methods

Our study cohort included all women diagnosed with breast cancer below the age of 60 between 1978 and 2013 in Denmark. A total of 47,920 women were followed up in the Danish Cancer Registry for primary brain cancer. Standardized incidence ratios (observed/expected cases (O/E)) were used to estimate the risk of getting a primary brain tumour in the breast cancer cohort.

Results

Data indicated an increased tendency of brain cancer following breast cancer at ages below 60 years (O/E = 1.24). For premenopausal women (age <49 at the diagnosis of breast cancer) the O/E was 1.25. Stratifying by time of breast cancer diagnosis, we observed an increased risk of being diagnosed with a brain tumour among women aged 49 years or younger at breast cancer diagnosis between 2004 and 2013.

Conclusion

The results indicate an increased tendency of developing a primary brain tumour in women with previous breast cancer history. Whereas the finding in premenopausal women is in line with the SEER data, the finding among postmenopausal is not. Primary brain tumours in breast cancer patients call for research in genetics and hormones to establish common risk factors.

Open access

Min Yang, Xiangling Deng, Shunan Wang, Bo Zhou, Wenquan Niu, and Zhixin Zhang

Objectives

We aimed to identify and characterize potential factors, both individually and jointly as a nomogram, associated with short stature and pre-shortness in Chinese preschool-aged children.

Methods

Total of 9501 children aged 3–6 years were recruited from 30 kindergartens in Beijing and Tangshan from September to December 2020 using a stratified random sampling method. Effect-size estimates are expressed as odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI.

Results

The prevalence of short stature and pre-shortness in preschool-aged children was 3.9% (n = 375) and 13.1% (n = 1616), respectively. Factors simultaneously associated with the significant risk for short stature, pre-shortness and both included BMI, paternal height, maternal height, birth weight, birth height, latter birth order (≥2) and less parental patience to children. Besides, breastfeeding duration (≥12 months) was exclusively associated with pre-shortness (OR, 95% CI, P: 1.16, 1.01 to 1.33, 0.037), and childhood obesity with both short stature (3.45, 2.62 to 4.54, <0.001) and short stature/pre-shortness (1.37, 1.15 to 1.64, <0.001). Modeling of significant factors in nomograms had descent prediction accuracies, with the C-index being 77.0, 70.1 and 71.2% for short stature, pre-shortness and both, respectively (all P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our findings indicate the joint contribution of inherited characteristics, nutrition status from the uterus to childhood, and family psychological environment to short stature and pre-shortness in Chinese preschool-aged children. Further validation in other independent groups is warranted.

Open access

Petar Milovanovic and Björn Busse

An increasing number of patients worldwide suffer from bone fractures that occur after low intensity trauma. Such fragility fractures are usually associated with advanced age and osteoporosis but also with long-term immobilization, corticosteroid therapy, diabetes mellitus, and other endocrine disorders. It is important to understand the skeletal origins of increased bone fragility in these conditions for preventive and therapeutic strategies to combat one of the most common health problems of the aged population. This review summarizes current knowledge pertaining to the phenomenon of micropetrosis (osteocyte lacunar mineralization). As an indicator of former osteocyte death, micropetrosis is more common in aged bone and osteoporotic bone. Considering that the number of mineralized osteocyte lacunae per bone area can distinguish healthy, untreated osteoporotic and bisphosphonate-treated osteoporotic patients, it could be regarded as a novel structural marker of impaired bone quality. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanism of lacunar mineralization and to explore whether it could be an additional target for preventing or treating bone fragility related to aging and various endocrine diseases.

Open access

Dorte Glintborg, Katrine Hass Rubin, Simon Bang Mohr Kristensen, Øjvind Lidegaard, Guy T’Sjoen, Aisa Burgwal, Malene Hilden, and Marianne Skovsager Andersen

Background

Gender dysphoria could be associated with low socioeconomic status (SES). SES could be modified by age, ethnic background, and medical morbidity.

Aim

To determine SES in a national study population including transgender persons in Denmark.

Methods

National register-based cohort study in Danish transgender persons and age-matched controls. The transgender study cohort included persons with ICD-10 diagnosis code of 'gender identity disorder' and/or persons with legal sex change and persons who fulfiled the inclusion criteria during 2000–2018. The main outcome measure was SES including personal income, occupational status, and education.

Results

The cohort included 2770 transgender persons and 27,700 controls. In the transgender study cohort, 1437 were assigned male at birth (AMAB), median age (interquartile range, IQR) 26.0 (17.3) years, and 1333 were assigned female at birth (AFAB), median age 22.5 (10.3) years. Adjusting for age and sex, the relative risk ratio (RRR) of low vs high personal income was 5.6 (95% CI: 4.9; 6.3) in transgender persons compared to controls. The RRR of low vs high income was 6.9 (5.8; 8.3) in persons AMAB compared to control males and 4.7 (3.9; 5.6) in persons AFAB compared to control females. The RRR of low vs high income was 3.7 (3.2; 4.3) in transgender persons of Danish origin compared to controls. The Charlson comorbidity index was comparable in transgender persons vs controls.

Conclusions

Being transgender was negatively associated with SES. In transgender persons, the risk of low vs high income could be more pronounced in transgender persons of foreign origin.

Open access

Sakina Kherra, Wendy Forsyth Paterson, Filiz Mine Cizmecioglu, Jeremy Huw Jones, Mariam Kourime, Heba Hassan Elsedfy, Sameh Tawfik, Andreas Kyriakou, Mohamad Guftar Shaikh, and Malcolm David Cairns Donaldson

Background

Hypogonadism is a key feature of Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) but clear strategies for hormone replacement are lacking.

Objective

To evaluate the gonadal status and outcome in patients attending a Scottish PWS clinic from 1991 to 2019.

Methods

In 93 (35F:56M) patients, median follow-up 11.2 years, gonadal and pubertal status were assessed clinically. Pelvic ultrasound findings and basal/stimulated gonadotrophins were compared with age-matched controls.

Results

Females:of 22 patients aged > 11, 9 had reached B4–5, while 5 were still at B2–3, and 6 remained prepubertal. Eight patients experienced menarche aged 9.8–21.4 years, none with a normal cycle. Uterine length and ovarian volumes were normal but uterine configuration remained immature, with low follicular counts. Gonadotrophins were unremarkable, serum oestradiol 129 (70–520) pmol/L. Only 5 patients received oestrogen replacement. Males:fifty-four (96%) patients were cryptorchid (9 unilateral). Weekly hCG injections resulted in unilateral/bilateral descent in 2/1 of 25 patients. Of 37 boys aged > 11, 14 (9 with failed/untreated bilateral cryptorchidism) failed to progress beyond G1, 15 arrested at G2–3 (testes 3–10 mL), and 8 reached G4–5. Gonadotrophins were unremarkable except in boys at G2–5 in whom FSH was elevated: 12.3/27.3 vs 3.25/6.26 U/L in controls (P < 0.001). In males aged > 13, testosterone was 3.1 (0.5–8.4) nmol/L. Androgen therapy, given from 13.5 to 29.2 years, was stopped in 4/24 patients owing to behavioural problems.

Conclusion

Despite invariable hypogonadism, few females and only half the males with PWS in this study received hormone replacement. Double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trials of sex steroids are required to address unproven behavioural concerns.

Open access

Heike Hoyer-Kuhn, Angela Huebner, Anette Richter-Unruh, Markus Bettendorf, Tilman Rohrer, Klaus Kapelari, Stefan Riedl, Klaus Mohnike, Helmuth-Günther Dörr, Friedrich-Wilhelm Roehl, Katharina Fink, Reinhard W Holl, and Joachim Woelfle

Objective

Treatment of classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is necessary to compensate for glucocorticoid/mineralocorticoid deficiencies and to suppress androgen excess. Hydrocortisone (HC) is preferred in growing children with classic CAH but recommendations regarding dosage/administration are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to evaluate HC dosing in children with CAH in relation to chronological age, sex, and phenotype based on a multicenter CAH registry.

Design

The CAH registry was initiated in 1997 by the AQUAPE in Germany. On December 31st 2018, data from 1571 patients were included.

Methods

A custom-made electronic health record software is used at the participating centers. Pseudonymized data are transferred for central analysis. Parameters were selected based on current guidelines. Descriptive analyses and linear regression models were implemented with SAS 9.4.

Results

We identified 1288 patients on exclusive treatment with hydrocortisone three times daily (604 boys; median age 7.2 years; 817 salt-wasting phenotype, 471 simple-virilizing phenotype). The mean (lower-upper quartiles) daily HC dose (mg/m² body surface area) was 19.4 (18.9–19.8) for patients <3 months (n = 329), 15.0 (14.6–15.3) for age ≥3–12 months (n = 463), 14.0 (13.7–14.3) for age 1–5.9 years (n = 745), 14.2 (14.0–14.5) for age 6 years to puberty entry (n = 669), and 14.9 (14.6–15.2) during puberty to 18 years (n = 801). Fludrocortisone was administered in 74.1% of patients with a median daily dosage of 88.8 µg.

Conclusion

Our analyses showed that still a high proportion of children are treated with HC doses higher than recommended. This evaluation provides comprehensive information on nationwide hydrocortisone substitution dosages in children with CAH underlining the benefit of systematic data within a registry to assess daily practice.

Open access

Jose M Garcia, Beverly M K Biller, Márta Korbonits, Vera Popovic, Anton Luger, Christian J Strasburger, Philippe Chanson, Ronald Swerdloff, Christina Wang, Rosa Rosanna Fleming, Fredric Cohen, Nicola Ammer, Gilbert Mueller, Nicky Kelepouris, Frank Strobl, Vlady Ostrow, and Kevin C J Yuen

Abstract

Objective

The macimorelin test is approved for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) based on its efficacy vs the insulin tolerance test (ITT). Macimorelin has a significant advantage over ITT in avoiding hypoglycemia. Analyses were conducted to determine whether macimorelin performance is affected by age, BMI, or sex, and evaluate its performance vs ITT over a range of GH cutpoints.

Design

Post hoc analyses of data from a previous randomized phase 3 study included participants aged 18–66 years with BMI <37 kg/m2 and high (Group A), intermediate (Group B), or low (Group C) likelihood for AGHD based on pituitary history, and matched controls (Group D).

Methods

Probability of AGHD was estimated using unadjusted, age-adjusted, BMI-adjusted, and sex-adjusted logistic models. Area under the curve (AUC) of the estimated receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (range, 0–1; 1 = perfect) was compared for adjusted vs unadjusted models. Separate analyses evaluated agreement, sensitivity, and specificity for macimorelin and ITT using cutpoints of 2.8, 4.0, 5.1, and 6.5 ng/mL.

Results

For participants in Group A (n = 41) and Group D (n = 29), unadjusted, age-adjusted, BMI-adjusted, and sex-adjusted models had ROC AUCs (95% CIs) of 0.9924 (0.9807–1), 0.9924 (0.9807–1), 0.9916 (0.9786–1), and 0.9950 (0.9861–1), respectively.

Conclusions

Macimorelin performance was not meaningfully affected by age, BMI, or sex, indicating robustness for AGHD diagnosis. Of the 4 GH cutpoints evaluated, the cutpoint of 5.1 ng/mL provided maximal specificity (96%) and high sensitivity (92%) and was in good overall agreement with the ITT at the same cutpoint (87%).

Open access

Kristin Ottarsdottir, Anna G Nilsson, Margareta Hellgren, Ulf Lindblad, and Bledar Daka

The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is a bidirectional association between testosterone concentrations and insulin resistance, in a prospective population study. A random population sample of 1400 men, aged 30–74, was examined in 2002–2005 in southwestern Sweden and followed up in 2012–2014 (N = 657). After excluding subjects without information on sex hormones and insulin resistance, 1282 men were included in the baseline study. Fasting measurements of plasma glucose, insulin and hormones were performed. Insulin resistance was defined using HOMA-Ir. Mean age at baseline was 47.3 ± 11.4 years. From the follow-up survey 546 men were included, mean age 57.7 ± 11.6 years. Low concentrations of total testosterone at baseline were significantly associated with high logHOMA-Ir at follow-up in a multivariable model including age, waist–hip ratio, physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking, LDL, CRP, hypertension, diabetes and logHOMA-Ir at baseline as covariates (β = −0.096, P = 0.006). Similar results were observed for bioavailable testosterone. Men within the lowest quartile of total testosterone at baseline had significantly higher logHOMA-Ir at follow-up than other quartiles (Q1 vs Q2 P = 0.008, Q1 vs Q3 P = 0.001, Q1 vs Q4 P = 0.052). Multivariable analysis of the impact of insulin resistance at baseline on testosterone levels at follow-up revealed no significant associations regarding testosterone concentrations (β = −0.003, P = 0.928) or bioavailable testosterone (β = −0.006, P = 0.873), when adjusting for baseline concentrations of total testosterone, age, waist–hip-ratio, LDL, CRP, physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking, hypertension and diabetes. Low testosterone concentrations at baseline predicted higher insulin resistance at follow-up, but high insulin resistance at baseline could not predict low testosterone at follow-up.

Open access

Farzaneh Rohani, Mohammad Reza Alai, Sedighe Moradi, and Davoud Amirkashani

Background

This study was conducted to find out whether boys with constitutional delay in growth and puberty (CDGP) could attain their target height and predicted adult height (PAH) in adulthood or not.

Methods

After measuring the height, weight, pubertal stage, parental height and bone age data of the patients at their first presentation were extracted from the files and their height and weight were measured at the end of the study, wrist X-Ray was performed in order to determine the bone age. PAH was calculated using Bayley–Pinneau method and target height was estimated by mid parental height. Final or near final heights of the patients were measured and compared with the target height and PAH.

Results

The mean age at presentation and the end of study was 15.2 ± 0.95, 20 ± 0.75 years respectively. Mean of bone age at the beginning of study was 12.97 ± 1 years and at the end of study were 17.6 ± 0.58 years. Mean of delayed bone age was 2.2 ± 0.82 years. Mean of the primary measured heights was 150.16 ± 7 cm (138–160 cm). Mean of final or near final heights was 165.7 ± 2.89 cm (161–170.5 cm). Final or near final heights in our subjects were smaller than either their PAH (165.7 ± 2.89 vs 170.7 ± 5.17) (P value <0.005) or target height (165.7 ± 2.89 vs 171.8 ± 4.65) (P value <0.0001).

Conclusion

Most patients with CDGP do not reach their target height or predicted adult height; they are usually shorter than their parents and general population. Such patients need to be followed up until they reach their final height and, in some cases, adjunctive medical treatment might be indicated.

Open access

Eva Olga Melin, Magnus Hillman, and Mona Landin-Olsson

Objective

To explore associations between high midnight salivary cortisol (MSC) secretion and high blood pressure (BP) in type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods

Cross-sectional study of 196 adult patients with T1D (54% men). Associations between high MSC (≥9.3 nmol/L) and high systolic BP (>130 mmHg), and high diastolic BP (>80 mmHg) were explored for all patients, users and non-users of antihypertensive drugs (AHD). Adjustments were performed for age, sex, diabetes-related variables, p-creatinine, smoking, physical inactivity, depression and medication.

Results

The prevalence of high MSC differed between patients with high and low systolic BP in all 196 patients: 39 vs 13% (P = 0.001); in 60 users of AHD: 37 vs 12% (P = 0.039), and in 136 non-users of AHD: 43 vs 13% (P = 0.012). Significant associations with high systolic BP were for all patients: physical inactivity (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 6.5), high MSC (AOR 3.9), abdominal obesity (AOR 3.7), AHD (AOR 2.9), age (per year) (AOR 1.07), and p-creatinine (per µmol/L) (AOR 1.03); for 60 users of AHD: high MSC (AOR 4.1) and age (per year) (AOR 1.11); for 136 non-users of AHD: abdominal obesity (AOR 27.4), physical inactivity (AOR 14.7), male sex (AOR 9.0), smoking (AOR 7.9), and age (per year) (AOR 1.08). High MSC was not associated with high DBP.

Conclusions

In adult patients with T1D, high systolic BP was associated with physical inactivity, high MSC secretion, abdominal obesity, p-creatinine, age, and AHD, the latter indicating treatment failure.