Sex differences in pediatric and adolescent endocrinology - what are the origins?

IF 2.7 3区医学 Q3 ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM

Hormone Research in Paediatrics Pub Date : 2026-04-28 DOI:10.1159/000552184

Gerhard Binder, Desiree Dunstheimer, Bettina Gohlke, Sabine Heger, Thomas Reinehr, Annette Richter-Unruh, Joachim Woelfle, Achim Wüsthof

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background Endocrine disorders appear to be unevenly distributed between females and males in pediatric endocrinology. Summary This narrative review collects causes from nurture and nature that may contribute to these differences in prevalence. For this purpose, the scientific literature from 1990 to 2025 was evaluated using the keywords sex-specific difference, gender-specific difference, sex difference, gender difference in combination with the endocrine disorder being treated. Key Messages One identified reason for sex differences in pediatric and adolescent endocrinology is arbitrary thresholds regarding the timing of puberty, which may favor the diagnosis of precocious puberty in females. Another reason for sex differences appears to be the different severity of psychosocial stress, which may contribute to sex differences, with males more frequently diagnosed with delayed puberty and growth hormone deficiency. Possibly contributing biological factors include the different regulation of endocrine processes in both sexes, which imply lower or higher homeostatic stability. Such sex dimorphism of biology has been described for the regulation of GH and LH/FSH. Therefore, nature may have an additional impact on sex disparities in GHD and precocious puberty. Less convincing data on the influence of nature were available for delayed puberty. This review can aid physicians to critically review their individual clinical practice and refrain from prematurely diagnosing and treating healthy children when therapeutic interventions are not truly warranted. .

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儿童和青少年内分泌学的性别差异——其根源是什么？

背景在儿科内分泌学中，内分泌疾病在男女之间的分布似乎不均匀。这篇叙述性综述收集了可能导致患病率差异的后天和自然因素。为此，使用关键词sex-specific difference， gender-specific difference, sex difference， gender difference合并治疗的内分泌失调，对1990 - 2025年的科学文献进行评价。儿童和青少年内分泌学中性别差异的一个确定原因是关于青春期时间的任意阈值，这可能有利于女性性早熟的诊断。性别差异的另一个原因似乎是心理社会压力的严重程度不同，这可能导致性别差异，男性更常被诊断为青春期延迟和生长激素缺乏。可能的生物因素包括两性内分泌过程的不同调节，这意味着更低或更高的体内平衡稳定性。这种生物学的性别二态性已被描述为GH和LH/FSH的调节。因此，自然可能对GHD和性早熟的性别差异有额外的影响。关于自然因素对青春期推迟的影响，目前还没有令人信服的数据。这种回顾可以帮助医生批判性地回顾他们的个人临床实践，避免过早地诊断和治疗健康儿童，当治疗干预措施不是真正必要的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Hormone Research in Paediatrics ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM-PEDIATRICS

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

6.20%

发文量

审稿时长

4-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The mission of ''Hormone Research in Paediatrics'' is to improve the care of children with endocrine disorders by promoting basic and clinical knowledge. The journal facilitates the dissemination of information through original papers, mini reviews, clinical guidelines and papers on novel insights from clinical practice. Periodic editorials from outstanding paediatric endocrinologists address the main published novelties by critically reviewing the major strengths and weaknesses of the studies.