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Adiposity and Sex Hormones in Girls

¹ Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Departments of ² Epidemiology and ³ Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; ⁴ Department of Surgery, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; and ⁵ Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Requests for reprints: Heather J. Baer, Channing Laboratory, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: 617-525-2101; Fax: 617-525-2008. E-mail: hbaer{at}hsph.harvard.edu

Greater body fatness during childhood is associated with reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer, but few studies have addressed the relation of adiposity with sex hormones in girls. We prospectively examined associations between adiposity and circulating levels of sex hormones and sex hormone–binding globulin (SHBG) among 286 girls in the Dietary Intervention Study in Children. Participants were 8 to 10 years old at baseline and were followed for an average of 7 years. Anthropometric measurements were taken at baseline and at subsequent annual visits, and blood samples were collected every 2 years. Concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) during follow-up were higher among girls with greater body mass index (BMI) at baseline. The mean for the lowest BMI quartile was 63.0 µg/dL compared with 78.8 µg/dL for the highest quartile, and each kg/m² increment in baseline BMI was associated with a 4.3% increase (95% confidence interval, 1.6-7.0%) in DHEAS levels during follow-up (P_trend = 0.002). Concentrations of SHBG during follow-up were lower among girls with greater BMI at baseline. The mean for the lowest BMI quartile was 94.8 nmol compared with 57.5 nmol for the highest quartile, and each kg/m² increment in baseline BMI was associated with an 8.8% decrease (95% confidence interval, 7.0-10.6%) in SHBG levels during follow-up (P_trend < 0.0001). Estrogen and progesterone concentrations were similar across BMI quartiles. These findings suggest that adiposity may alter DHEAS and SHBG levels in girls. Whether and how these differences affect breast development and carcinogenesis requires further research. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(9):1880–8)

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