A longitudinal study of the urinary excretion of individual steroids in children from 3 to 7-years-old

A longitudinal study was made of the daily urinary excretion, on or near each birthday, of a number of C19 and C21 steroids in 9 healthy girls and 5 healthy boys aged 3 to 7 years. The amount of androsterone excreted by each individual increased slowly during the period of study but the absolute amounts varied greatly between individuals. The excretion of aetiocholanolone was greater than that of androsterone, contrary to reported findings in older children. Small amounts of DHA were found. Testosterone was found in only about 40% of samples; epitestosterone in 70 % and 11β-OH-androsterone in only 62 %. Cortisol metabolites were excreted in amounts which increased with age and all three metabolites of corticosterone were present in most specimens. 11-Deoxycortisol was found in about 50 % of the samples and THS in 63 %. The mean trend in the ratio of glucuronides to sulphates of the 11-deoxy-17-oxosteroids decreased with increasing age, but the 11-deoxy-11-oxy ratio of 17-oxosteroids increased as did the 5α/5β ratio of the C19 and C21 steroids.

No sex differences were observed. The excretion of cortisol metabolites showed a positive correlation with height and weight. 11-Deoxy-17-oxosteroids were positively correlated with the weight. No significant relationships between steroid excretion and skeletal maturity were found.

A longitudinal study of the urinary excretion of individual steroids in children from 8 to 12 years old

A longitudinal study was made of the urinary excretion of a number of C19 and C21 steroids in 11 healthy boys and 9 healthy girls aged 8–12 yr. Urine collections were made every 6 months, over periods ranging from 1 to 2½ yr. in different children. The excretions of most substances showed surprisingly regular increments in individual children. Differences between individual children were marked and often consistent; some children excreted high amounts of one substance and low amounts of another, and other childen the reverse. The variation between individuals in the excretion of substances such as androsterone and aetiocholanolone was reduced when the results were plotted against skeletal rather than chronological age. DHA was excreted by all subjects, but at a very low level before the skeletal age of 10 yr. The glucuronide: sulphate ratio of the 11-deoxy-17-oxosteroids fell consistently from 8 to 12 yr. whereas the ratio of 5α-: 5β-11-deoxy-17-oxosteroids increased. Boys excreted more C19 steroids than girls with the same skeletal maturity score. This comparison is physiologically more meaningful than comparing boys and girls of the same chronological age.

Urinary levels of C19 and C21 steroids in healthy young men and their relation to muscle and limb bone widths

The urinary excretion of a number of individually estimated C19 and C21 steroids was measured in 26 healthy young men. The relation between the levels of excretion of certain steroids and the widths of bone, muscle and fat in the upper arm, calf and thigh measured in radiographs was studied. There was a positive relation between the excretion of androsterone and aetiocholanolone and muscle width, and also between total cortisol metabolites and bone width. There was a highly significant negative regression of total corticosterone metabolites on muscle width.