TY - JOUR
T1 - The timing of adrenarche in Maya girls, Merida, Mexico
AU - Keestra, Sarai M
AU - Bentley, Gillian R
AU - Núñez-de la Mora, Alejandra
AU - Houghton, Lauren C
AU - Wilson, Hannah
AU - Vázquez-Vázquez, Adriana
AU - Cooper, Gillian D
AU - Dickinson, Federico
AU - Griffiths, Paula
AU - Bogin, Barry A
AU - Varela-Silva, Maria Inês
N1 - Funding Information: Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship; Wellcome Trust/National Institutes of Health (NIH) scholarship; Wenner‐Gren Foundation, Grant/Award Number: #ICRG‐93 Funding information Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. American Journal of Human Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.
PY - 2021/3/1
Y1 - 2021/3/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: Adrenarche involves maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and increased production of dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate ester, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S). It occurs at ages 6 to 8 in industrialized populations, marking the transition from childhood to juvenility and cognitive development at middle childhood. Studies in subsistence level populations indicate a later age (8-9) for adrenarche, but only two such studies currently exist for comparison.AIMS: To investigate adrenarcheal age among Maya girls and its association with body composition and dietary variables. We hypothesized adrenarche would occur earlier given the current dual burden of nutrition in Mexico.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 25 Maya girls aged 7 to 9 from Merida, Mexico using ELISAs to measure salivary DHEA-S, standard anthropometry for height, weight, and skinfolds, bioelectrical impedance for body composition variables, as well as a food frequency questionnaire for dietary information.RESULTS: Our hypothesis was rejected-adrenarche occurred close to 9 years. While no measures of body composition were significantly associated with adrenarcheal status, girls eating meat and dairy products more frequently had significantly higher DHEA-S levels.DISCUSSION: Like other populations living in ecologically challenging environments, adrenarche occurred relatively late among Maya girls. Adrenarche has been linked to measures of body composition, particularly, the adiposity or body mass index rebound, but no relevant anthropometric measures were associated, possibly because of the small sample.CONCLUSION: Further studies are required to illuminate how adrenarcheal variation relates to developmental plasticity, body composition, pubertal progression, and animal product consumption in other transitional populations.
AB - BACKGROUND: Adrenarche involves maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and increased production of dehydroepiandrosterone and its sulfate ester, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S). It occurs at ages 6 to 8 in industrialized populations, marking the transition from childhood to juvenility and cognitive development at middle childhood. Studies in subsistence level populations indicate a later age (8-9) for adrenarche, but only two such studies currently exist for comparison.AIMS: To investigate adrenarcheal age among Maya girls and its association with body composition and dietary variables. We hypothesized adrenarche would occur earlier given the current dual burden of nutrition in Mexico.MATERIALS AND METHODS: 25 Maya girls aged 7 to 9 from Merida, Mexico using ELISAs to measure salivary DHEA-S, standard anthropometry for height, weight, and skinfolds, bioelectrical impedance for body composition variables, as well as a food frequency questionnaire for dietary information.RESULTS: Our hypothesis was rejected-adrenarche occurred close to 9 years. While no measures of body composition were significantly associated with adrenarcheal status, girls eating meat and dairy products more frequently had significantly higher DHEA-S levels.DISCUSSION: Like other populations living in ecologically challenging environments, adrenarche occurred relatively late among Maya girls. Adrenarche has been linked to measures of body composition, particularly, the adiposity or body mass index rebound, but no relevant anthropometric measures were associated, possibly because of the small sample.CONCLUSION: Further studies are required to illuminate how adrenarcheal variation relates to developmental plasticity, body composition, pubertal progression, and animal product consumption in other transitional populations.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087674889&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23465
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23465
M3 - Article
C2 - 32643208
SN - 1042-0533
VL - 33
SP - e23465
JO - American journal of human biology
JF - American journal of human biology
IS - 2
M1 - e23465
ER -