Body composition and concentrations of leptin, neuropeptide Y, β-endorphin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin at menarche in girls with constitutional delay of puberty

Abstract

Aim. Constitutional delay of puberty (CDP), a rare condition among girls, manifests as retarded sexual maturity past the 13th year of life. The clinical and endocrinological aspects of this interesting problem appear to have escaped attention in the literature. The purpose of the present study was to compare body composition and concentrations of leptin, neuropeptide Y (NPY), β-endorphin, growth hormone (GH), insulin growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin at menarche in CDP girls and girls with normal pubertal development (NP).

Materials and methods. We enrolled 11 girls with CDP and 40 girls with NP. All participants were studied at or within 3 months of menarche. Age, height and weight were recorded. Body composition was established with a body composition analyzer. Radioimmunoassays were performed to measure concentrations of NPY, β-endorphin, leptin, GH, IGF-I and insulin.

Results. The mean age at menarche in the CDP and NP groups was 16.1 and 12.5 years, respectively (p = 0.0001). CDP girls at menarche were taller (1.64 vs. 1.57 m; p = 0.012). The difference between groups in body weight (57.5 vs. 50.4 kg; p = 0.1), body mass index (BMI), fat mass, fat percentage (BF%) and lean mass was not significant, and nor was the difference in leptin, GH and insulin levels. However, CDP girls demonstrated significantly higher NPY concentrations (199.4±105.1 vs. 56.9±26.3 pg/ml; p = 0.001). NPY correlated with BF% (r = 0.60) in this group. IGF-I concentrations were significantly lower in CDP girls (524.8±50.6 ng/ml) than in NP girls (744.5±56.1 ng/ml; p = 0.024).

Conclusion. Girls with CDP differed from NP girls only in age at menarche and height; they did not differ significantly with respect to BMI and body composition parameters. Higher concentrations of NPY in CDP girls may be responsible for CDP and reduced levels of IGF-I. Correlation of NPY with BF% suggests an involvement of this neuropeptide in the process of fat accumulation associated with CDP.

Keywords:

• Neuropeptide Y
• β-endorphin
• leptin
• delayed puberty