Postpartum Obesity Is Associated With Increases in Child Adiposity in Midchildhood in a Cohort of Black and Dominican Youth.

Background: Obesity disproportionately affects marginalized and low-income populations. Birth parent obesity from the prenatal period and childhood has been associated with child obesity. It is unknown whether prenatal or postnatal birth parent obesity has differential effects on subsequent changes in adiposity and metabolic health in children.

Inverse associations of cord blood mitochondrial DNA copy number with childhood adiposity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine associations between umbilical cord mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and adiposity across childhood.

Methods: In a prospective birth cohort of Dominican and African American children from New York City, New York (1998-2006), mtDNAcn was measured in cord blood. Children (N = 336) were evaluated for their height, weight, and bioimpedance at age 5, 7, 9, and 11 years.

Reference ranges for body composition indices by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study Cohort.

Background: Body composition assessment aids evaluation of energy stores and the impact of diseases and interventions on child growth. Current United States pediatric reference ranges from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) include 20% of children with obesity, body mass index of ≥95th percentile.

Objectives: This study aimed to develop dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) based reference ranges in a diverse cohort with low-obesity prevalence from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study (BMDCS).

The Relationship between Metabolic Comorbidities and Post-Surgical Weight Loss Outcomes in Adolescents Undergoing Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Introduction: Little is known about the relationship between metabolic factors and weight loss success in adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery.

Methods: The objective of this study was to assess if baseline metabolic characteristics associate with weight loss in adolescents undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. A retrospective study was conducted in a comprehensive adolescent bariatric surgery center of 151 subjects (34 male, 117 female).

History of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Premature Adrenarche, and Hyperandrogenism in Pediatric Endocrinology.

Descriptions of probable PCOS can be found in ancient Roman writings and in Renaissance art. Attention to domesticated animal reproduction led ancient observers to understand the role of the testes in male phenotypes, proven experimentally by testicular transplantation (in chickens) in 1849. Testosterone was isolated and its structure determined in the 1930s, but the multiple pathways of androgen synthesis have only been delineated recently.

A Brief History of the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES).

The Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) was initially established in 1972 as the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (LWPES), by some of Wilkins' former fellows. As the society grew from its 37 founding members and Dr. Wilkins' influence faded, the name of the society was changed in 2010 and now counts about 1,500 members, mostly from the US and Canada.

Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and BMI Z-scores from 5 to 14 years.

Background: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame-retardant compounds widely used in household products until phase out in 2004. PBDEs are endocrine disruptors and are suggested to influence signaling related to weight control. Prenatal exposures to PBDEs may alter childhood adiposity, yet few studies have examined these associations in human populations.

Ovarian follicle count by magnetic resonance imaging is greater in adolescents and young adults with polycystic ovary syndrome than in controls.

Objective: To use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify the follicle number per ovary (FNPO) using biplanar measurements and determine the ovarian volume (OV) using three-dimensional measurements in adolescents and young adults with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and controls and compare the differences between these groups; to examine the relationships between FNPO and OV and metabolic markers associated with PCOS; to compare OV obtained by use of MRI and ultrasound between young patients with PCOS and controls.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Outpatient within a major medical center in New York City.

Trabecular Bone Score Reference Values for Children and Adolescents According to Age, Sex, and Ancestry.

Trabecular bone score (TBS) is used for fracture prediction in adults, but its utility in children is limited by absence of appropriate reference values. We aimed to develop reference ranges for TBS by age, sex, and population ancestry for youth ages 5 to 20 years. We also investigated the association between height, body mass index (BMI), and TBS, agreement between TBS and lumbar spine areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) Z-scores, tracking of TBS Z-scores over time, and precision of TBS measurements.

CYP11B1 variants influence skeletal maturation via alternative splicing.

We performed genome-wide association study meta-analysis to identify genetic determinants of skeletal age (SA) deviating in multiple growth disorders. The joint meta-analysis (N = 4557) in two multiethnic cohorts of school-aged children identified one locus, CYP11B1 (expression confined to the adrenal gland), robustly associated with SA (rs6471570-A; β = 0.14; P = 6.

Profile of Daughters and Sisters of Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The Role of Proband's Glucose Tolerance.

Context: First-degree relatives of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) present hormonal and metabolic alterations compared to girls unrelated to PCOS. It is unknown whether glucose intolerance in the PCOS proband confers a more severe metabolic predisposition on their first-degree relatives.

Objective: To determine whether glucose tolerance status in women with PCOS is associated with worsened glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels in their peripubertal daughters or sisters.

Disorders of Puberty in Girls.

Puberty is the process through which reproductive competence is achieved and comprises gonadarche and adrenarche. Breast development is the initial physical finding of pubertal onset in girls and typically occurs between 8 and 13 years. Menarche normally occurs 2 to 3 years after the onset of breast development.

Salivary microbiome differences in prepubertal children with and without adrenal androgen excess.

Background: Premature adrenarche is a condition of childhood adrenal androgen excess (AAE) in the absence of gonadotropin-dependent puberty, and has been linked to insulin resistance and progression to metabolic syndrome. Microbial dysbiosis is associated with progression of inflammatory states and chronic diseases. Here, we aimed to examine the salivary microbiomes of children with AAE and assess the relationship with adrenal androgens and metabolic parameters.

The Unique Role of 11-Oxygenated C19 Steroids in Both Premature Adrenarche and Premature Pubarche.

Introduction: Recent studies have shown 11-oxygenated androgens (11oAs) are the dominant androgens in premature adrenarche (PA). Our objective was to compare 11oAs and conventional androgens in a well-defined cohort of children with PA or premature pubarche (PP) and correlate these androgens with metabolic markers.

Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at a university hospital.

Genome-wide association study implicates novel loci and reveals candidate effector genes for longitudinal pediatric bone accrual.

Background: Bone accrual impacts lifelong skeletal health, but genetic discovery has been primarily limited to cross-sectional study designs and hampered by uncertainty about target effector genes. Here, we capture this dynamic phenotype by modeling longitudinal bone accrual across 11,000 bone scans in a cohort of healthy children and adolescents, followed by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and variant-to-gene mapping with functional follow-up.

Results: We identify 40 loci, 35 not previously reported, with various degrees of supportive evidence, half residing in topological associated domains harboring known bone genes.

The effects of adolescent laparoscopic adjustable gastric band and sleeve gastrectomy on markers of bone health and bone turnover.

25-hydroxy vitamin D (25 OHD) deficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism have been seen after metabolic and bariatric surgery, but data are lacking on the bone health outcomes of adolescent sleeve gastrectomy (SG). The purpose of this study was to examine bone-related nutrition after SG, compared to laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (LAGB), and trend bone turnover markers following SG. This is an observational study of 197 adolescents who underwent LAGB (n = 98) or SG (n = 99).

Intermachine differences in DXA measurements vary by skeletal site, and impact the assessment of low bone density in children.

Background: Bone mineral content (BMC) and areal-bone mineral density (aBMD) measurements of the lumbar spine (LS) and whole body less head (WBLH) by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) are recommended for bone health assessment in children. Intermachine differences were not considered previously in formulating these recommendations.

Methodology: DXA measurements of the LS, WBLH, total hip, femoral neck and distal 1/3 radius from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study were examined.

Update on adrenarche.

Purpose Of Review: Adrenarche is the pubertal maturation of the innermost zone of the adrenal cortex, the zona reticularis. The onset of adrenarche occurs between 6 and 8 years of age when dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) concentrations increase. This review provides an update on adrenal steroidogenesis and the differential diagnosis of premature development of pubic hair.

Pediatric Reference Ranges for Ultradistal Radius Bone Density: Results from the Bone Mineral Density in Childhood Study.

Context: The ultradistal (UD) radius is rich in trabecular bone and is easily measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). UD radius areal bone mineral density (aBMD) may help identify trabecular bone deficits, but reference data are needed for research and clinical interpretation of this measure.

Objective: We developed age-, sex-, and population ancestry-specific reference ranges for UD radius aBMD assessed by DXA and calculated Z-scores.

Obesity and Insulin Resistance, Not Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Are Independent Predictors of Bone Mineral Density in Adolescents and Young Women.

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders that affects females of reproductive age. The characteristic features of PCOS individually have opposing effects on bone mineral density (BMD); however, their cumulative effect on BMD has not been clearly defined. Adolescence and young adulthood span a crucial period in achieving peak bone mass.