Normal Sweat Secretion Despite Impaired Growth Hormone-Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Axis in Obese Subjects

Adults with GH deficiency are known to exhibit reduced sweating. Whether sweating capacity is impacted in obese subjects with impaired GH secretion have not previously been investigated. The main objective was to investigate sweat secretion rate and the GH-IGF-I axis in obese subjects before and after weight loss. Sixteen severely obese women (BMI, 40.6 ± 1.1 kg/m2) were investigated before and after a diet-induced weight loss. Sixteen age-matched nonobese women served as controls. The obese subjects presented the characteristic decreased GH release, hyperinsulinaemia, increased FFA levels, and impaired insulin sensitivity, which all were normalised after diet-induced weight loss of 30 ± 5 kg. Sweat secretion rates were similar comparing obese and nonobese subjects (78 ± 10 versus 82 ± 9 mg/30 minutes) and sweat secretion did not change after a diet-induced weight loss in obese subjects. We conclude that although obese subjects have markedly reduced GH release and impaired IGF-I levels, sweat secretion rate is found to be normal

Pubarche and Gonadarche Onset and Progression Are Differently Associated With Birth Weight and Infancy Growth Patterns

Context: Controversy exists regarding associations between early-life growth patterns and timing of puberty.Objective: This work aims to investigate associations between birth anthropometry, early growth patterns, and onset/progression of pubertal milestones in boys and girls.Methods: Among children examined at birth (1997-2003) and at age 36 months in a mother-child cohort, pubertal Tanner stages (B1-5, PH1-5, G1-5) and testicular volume were examined by trained physicians at 1 to 5 follow-up examinations during childhood and adolescence (672 girls and 846 boys, 2006-2013). With parametric survival models we analyzed associations between birth weight, changes in SD scores (SDS) from birth to 36 months (Delta SDS 0-36 > 0.67 SD defining catch-up growth), and age at pubertal onset/attainment of late pubertal stages/menarche.Results: A 1-kg higher birth weight was associated with earlier onset of B2+ (thelarche): -3.9 months (CI, -6.7 to -1.1 months), G2+ (gonadarche): -2.7 months (-5.3 to -0.1 months), Tvol3+ (testis size > 3 mL): -2.8 months (CI, -4.9 to -0.7 months), but with later G4+ and PH4+ in boys, and a slower progression from B2 to menarche (5.3 months [CI, 1.2 to 9.4 months)) in girls. Catch-up growth was associated with earlier PH2+ (pubarche) in girls (-4.1 months [CI, -7.6 to -0.6 months]), earlier PH2+ in boys (-3.4 months [CI, -6.6 to -0.2 months]), faster progression from B2 to menarche in girls (-9.1 months [CI, 14.6 to 3.5 months]), and earlier G4+ and PH4+ in boys.Conclusion: Associations between birthweight and infancy catch-up growth differed for gonadarche and pubarche, and for early and late pubertal markers, with similar patterns in both sexes.</p

Impaired Reproductive Development in Sons of Women Occupationally Exposed to Pesticides during Pregnancy

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate whether occupational pesticide exposure during pregnancy causes adverse effects on the reproductive development in the male infants. DESIGN AND MEASUREMENTS: Pregnant women employed in greenhouses in Denmark were consecutively recruited, and 113 mother–son pairs were included. The mothers were categorized as occupationally exposed (91 sons) or unexposed (22 sons) to pesticides during pregnancy. Testicular position and volume, penile length, and position of urethral opening were determined at 3 months of age using standardized techniques. Concentrations of reproductive hormones in serum from the boys were analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of cryptorchidism at 3 months of age was 6.2 % [95 % confidence interval (CI), 3.0–12.4]. This prevalence was considerably higher than among Danish boys born in the Copenhagen area (1.9%; 95 % CI, 1.2–3.0) examined by the same procedure. Boys of pesticideexposed mothers showed decreased penile length, testicular volume, serum concentrations of testosterone, and inhibin B. Serum concentrations of sex hormone-binding globulin, follicle-stimulating hormone, and the luteinizing hormone:testosterone ratio were increased compared with boys of nonexposed mothers. For individual parameters, only the decreased penile length was statisticall

A Longitudinal Study of Urinary Phthalate Excretion in 58 Full-Term and 67 Preterm Infants from Birth through 14 Months

Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health PerspectivesDanish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (09-067180) and by Kuopio University Hospital, EVO funding, Finlan

Prenatal Triclosan Exposure and Anthropometric Measures Including Anogenital Distance in Danish Infants

BACKGROUND: Triclosan (TCS) is widely used as an antibacterial agent in consumer products such as hand soap and toothpaste, and human exposure is widespread. TCS is suspected of having endocrine-disrupting properties, but few human studies have examined the developmental effects of prenatal TCS exposure. OBJECTIVES: We prospectively examined associations between prenatal TCS exposure and anthropometric measures at birth and anogenital distance (AGD) at 3 months of age. METHODS: Pregnant women from the Odense Child Cohort (n = 514) provided urine samples at approximately gestational week 28 (median 28.7 weeks, range 26.4–34.0), and urinary TCS concentration was measured by isotope dilution TurboFlow–liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine associations between prenatal TCS exposure and measures of size at birth (birth weight, length, head and abdominal circumference) and AGD at 3 months of age (median 3.3 months, range 2.3–6.7 months), controlling for potential confounders. RESULTS: Newborn boys in the highest quartile of prenatal TCS exposure had a 0.7-cm [95% confidence interval (CI): –1.2, –0.1, p = 0.01] smaller head circumference than boys in the lowest quartile. Additionally in boys, inverse associations of borderline statistical significance were observed between prenatal TCS exposure and abdominal circumference at birth and AGD at 3 months of age (p-values < 0.10). Prenatal TCS exposure was not significantly associated with any of the outcomes in girls. However, AGD was measured in fewer girls, and we observed no significant interactions between a child’s sex and prenatal TCS exposure in anthropometric measures at birth. CONCLUSION: Prenatal TCS exposure was associated with reduced head and abdominal circumference at birth and with reduced AGD at 3 months of age in boys, although the last two findings were statistically nonsignificant. These findings require replication but are compatible with an anti-androgenic effect of prenatal TCS exposure on fetal growth in boys. CITATION: Lassen TH, Frederiksen H, Kyhl HB, Swan SH, Main KM, Andersson AM, Lind DV, Husby S, Wohlfahrt-Veje C, Skakkebæk NE, Jensen TK. 2016. Prenatal triclosan exposure and anthropometric measures including anogenital distance in Danish infants. Environ Health Perspect 124:1261–1268; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.140963