Positive Cortisol-Testosterone Hormonal Coupling Among Adolescents in Argentina and Jordan.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Puberty is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and gonadal (HPG) axes. It has been proposed that if HPA and HPG coactivate during pubertal development, the hormones cortisol and testosterone would be positively coupled during puberty and decoupled postpuberty. Our objective was to test for hormonal coupling in less-studied, non-Western populations.

Materials and methods

We analyzed longitudinal and cross-sectional data from marginalized populations: Indigenous Qom/Toba females in Argentina (n = 46, 777 urine samples) and Syrian/Jordanian youth (n = 768, dried blood spots). We used Bayesian hierarchical models to assess the hypothesis that cortisol and testosterone are positively coupled during puberty but decouple at later stages.

Results

SUBMITTER: Glass DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12489019 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature