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Published on: March 23, 2018
Reference intervals of inhibin B in Chinese children on chemiluminescence analyzer
Bin Zhou1, Jinjun Luo2, Xiang Dai1
1Tongji Medical College, Wuhan Children's Hospital (Wuhan Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, 430000, China.
Insights
Reference intervals for Inhibin B (INHB) in children are now available, aiding in the diagnosis of sexual function diseases. This study establishes age and sex-specific INHB levels for Chinese children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Reproductive Biology
- Clinical Diagnostics
Background:
- Inhibin B (INHB) is a key biomarker for sexual function disorders.
- Clinical application of INHB in pediatric populations is limited by the absence of established reference intervals (RIs).
- Understanding INHB dynamics in children requires age- and sex-specific data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish age- and sex-specific reference intervals for serum Inhibin B (INHB) in healthy Chinese children.
- To investigate the influence of age and sex on INHB concentrations.
- To explore the association between INHB and conventional sex hormones in pediatric subjects.
Main Methods:
- Serum INHB and sex hormone levels were measured in 622 healthy Chinese children (48.6% female).
- Participants were categorized into four age groups: <1 year, 1-5 years, 5-10 years, and 10-18 years.
- Age-related INHB changes were modeled (linear, quadratic, cubic, S, logarithmic), and correlations with sex hormones were analyzed using Spearman correlation.
Main Results:
- Girls exhibited lower median INHB concentrations and variability compared to boys across all age groups.
- Cubic models best described the age-related INHB changes (R²=0.440 for boys, R²=0.198 for girls).
- Distinct INHB patterns were observed, with higher levels in the youngest and oldest girls, and the youngest boys, compared to intermediate groups (P≤0.001).
- Sex-dependent correlations were found between INHB and sex hormones, including a positive association with prolactin (PRL) in boys.
Conclusions:
- Serum INHB levels in children are significantly influenced by both age and sex.
- The established RIs provide crucial data for facilitating the screening and diagnosis of sexual function diseases in Chinese children.
- These findings highlight the importance of sex-specific and age-stratified reference ranges for INHB in pediatric endocrinology.
Abstract:
Inhibin B (INHB) is an emerging biomarker of sexual function diseases, but its clinical use in children is hindered due to the lacking reference intervals (RIs) based on age and sex. A total of 622 healthy Chinese children including 48.6% females and 51.4% males were included and serum INHB and six conventional sex hormones were measured. INHB was partitioned by four predetermined age groups (< 1 year, 1-5 years, 5-10 years, 10-18 years) and the corresponding RIs were determined with quantile. The effect of age on INHB was assessed using five models including linear, quadratic, cubic, S, and logarithmic. Spearman correlation was used to examine the associations between INHB and sex hormones. Compared to the boys, girls had lower median concentrations and variability in INHB across all four age groups. The optimal models for the effect of age on INHB were cubic (R2 = 0.440 for boys and R2 = 0.198 for girls). The median INHB concentrations in the youngest and oldest age groups for girls were higher than the two intermediate age groups and in the youngest age group for boys were higher than other age groups (all P ≤ 0.001). Spearman's correlation analysis showed the sex-dependent associations between INHB and conventional sex hormones (e.g. a positive association with PRL in boys). INHB level is influenced by age and sex, and our results provide specific RIs to facilitate screening sexual function diseases in Chinese children.
