Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Maternal circulating cortisol and 24-h urinary free cortisol levels are up to three times higher in third trimester pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women. Maternal cortisol status could be associated with offspring sex, maternal PCOS and testosterone levels.Aims: To determine predictors of maternal serum (S) and urinary (U) cortisol and cortisone levels during 3rd trimester and to examine associations between maternal cortisol status,...

Background: Higher testosterone levels during pregnancy in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) could be associated with longer offspring ano-genital distance (AGD).Aims: To compare AGD between offspring of mothers with PCOS and controls and to determine possible associations between maternal 3rd trimester testosterone levels and offspring AGD at three months of age.Methods: The study was part of the prospective s...

Background: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are endocrine disrupting chemicals, with elimination half-lives ranging from four to eight years. Experimental studies found PFAS able to interfere with thyroid hormone-binding proteins. During the first 20 weeks of gestation (GW), the fetus is reliant on placental transfer of maternal thyroid hormones, mainly free thyroxine (FT4). However, previous studies investigating associations between exposure to PFAS and thyroid hormone stat...

Background: Prolactin is associated with metabolic risk inside and outside of pregnancy. Maternal prolactin levels could be associated with offspring body composition.Aim: To investigate if maternal prolactin-levels were linked to offspring body composition at seven years of age.Design: Prospective observational cohort study (the Odense Child Cohort).Methods: Maternal fasting blood samples were assessed durin...

Background: Synthetic glucocorticoid exposure in late pregnancy may be associated with higher blood pressure in offspring. We hypothesized that endogenous cortisol in pregnancy relates to offspring blood pressure (OBP).Objective: To investigate associations between maternal cortisol status in 3rd trimester pregnancy and OBP.Methods: We included 1,317 mother-child pairs from Odense Child Cohort (OCC), an observational prospective co...

Background: Long-term, low-dose prednisolone treatment (≤5mg/day) is associated with adrenal insufficiency in >33% of patients. Nevertheless, the clinical consequences of glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency in patients receiving ongoing low-dose glucocorticoid treatment are unknown. Current clinical guidelines do not recommend routine evaluation of adrenal function during low-dose glucocorticoid treatment, and patients are not routinely instructed to increase gl...

Background: The risk and course of glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency (GIA) are unclear and current evidence is retrospective and based on small and selected study populations. However, the prevalence of glucocorticoid use is at least 3 %, which underscores the need for unbiased and prospective assessment of the prevalence and clinical consequences of GIA.Objectives: To identify biomarkers of GIA as regards diagnosis, prognosis and responsivene...

Background: Glucocorticoid (GC) formulations are widely used as anti-inflammatory treatment, and synthetic GC, e.g. prednisolone, is the cornerstone treatment of polymyalgia rheumatic (PMR) and giant cell arteritis (GCA). Long-term pharmacological GC treatment may induce adrenal insufficiency (GIA). Adrenal function is, however, not routinely assessed after discontinuation of long-term GC treatment, and it is unknown, if hydrocortisone replacement is beneficial. This study aim...