Sex hormone patterns and serum retinol concentrations in adolescent girls

To describe the pattern and relation of sex serum hormones and retinol concentrations over 1 menstrual cycle in adolescent girls living in a resource-poor setting.

Venous blood samples were collected on alternate days of the cycle, and estrogen, progesterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone and serum retinol were measured. A linear random effects model was used to examine the relationship between sex hormones and serum retinol.

Twenty-eight girls were studied. During the follicular phase, serum retinol was associated negatively with progesterone and positively with LH. In the luteal phase, serum retinol was positively associated with estrogen. Serum retinol increased in the follicular phase but not the luteal phase. Sex hormone and serum retinol concentrations showed marked individual and day-to-day variability. Two girls maintained serum retinol concentrations > 0.7 mumol/L throughout the cycle. Six remained at < 0.7 mumol/L, which indicated subclinical deficiency.

This study indicated that in adolescent girls, sex hormone patterns correlate significantly with serum retinol, and in vitamin A-deficient girls this could be important for reproductive function.