Racial variation in umbilical cord blood sex steroid hormones and the insulin-like growth factor axis in African-American and white female neonates
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2012
Abstract
Purpose: To evaluate whether there is racial variation in venous umbilical cord blood concentrations of sex steroid hormones and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis between female African-American and white neonates. Methods: Maternal and birth characteristics and venous umbilical cord blood samples were collected from 77 African-American and 41 white full-term uncomplicated births at two urban hospitals in 2004 and 2005. Cord blood was measured for testosterone, dehydroespiandrosterone-sulfate, estradiol, and sex steroid hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) by immunoassay. IGF-1, IGF-2, and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) were measured by ELISA. Crude and multivariable-adjusted geometric mean concentrations were computed for the hormones. Results: African-American neonates weighed less at birth (3,228 g vs. 3,424 g, p < 0.004) than whites. Birth weight was positively correlated with IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and the molar ratio of IGF-1 to IGFBP-3, but inversely correlated with the molar ratio of IGF-2 to IGFBP-3. Adjusted models showed higher testosterone (1.82 ng/ml vs. 1.47 ng/ml, p = 0.006) and the molar ratio of testosterone to SHBG (0.42 vs. 0.30, p = 0.03) in African-American compared to white female neonates. IGF-1, IGF-2, and IGFBP-3 were lower in African-American compared to white female neonates, but only the difference for IGF-2 remained significant (496.5 ng/ml vs. 539.2 ng/ml, p = 0.04). Conclusion: We provide evidence of racial variation in cord blood testosterone and testosterone to SHBG in African- American compared to white female neonates, and higher IGF-2 in white compared to African-American female neonates. Findings suggest plausible explanations for a prenatal influence on subsequent breast cancer risk and mortality. Further work is needed to confirm these observations. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011.
Recommended Citation
Agurs-Collins, Tanya; Rohrmann, Sabine; Sutcliffe, Catherine; Bienstock, Jessica L.; Monsegue, Deborah; Akereyeni, Folasade; Bradwin, Gary; Rifai, Nader; Pollak, Michael N.; and Platz, Elizabeth A., "Racial variation in umbilical cord blood sex steroid hormones and the insulin-like growth factor axis in African-American and white female neonates" (2012). Howard University Cancer Center Faculty Publications. 62.
https://dh.howard.edu/hucancer_fac/62
