TY - JOUR

T1 - Cohort profile

T2 - The COPENHAGEN Minipuberty Study—A longitudinal prospective cohort of healthy full‐term infants and their parents

AU - Busch, Alexander Siegfried

AU - Ljubicic, Marie Lindhardt

AU - Upners, Emmie N.

AU - Fischer, Margit Bistrup

AU - Kolby, Nanna

AU - Eckert‐lind, Camilla

AU - Jespersen, Kirstine

AU - Andersson, Anna‐maria

AU - Frederiksen, Hanne

AU - Johannsen, Trine Holm

AU - Hegaard, Hanne Kristine

AU - Sharif, Heidi

AU - Hagen, Casper P.

AU - Juul, Anders

PY - 2021/9/1

Y1 - 2021/9/1

N2 - BackgroundThe hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis governs sexual maturation and reproductive function in humans. In early postnatal life, it is transiently active during which circulating sex steroids reach adult levels. While this so-called minipuberty represents a universal phenomenon in infants of both sexes, its role for early maturation and growth remains incompletely understood.ObjectivesTo provide normative data on auxology as well as serum and urinary hormone levels in healthy, full-term infants throughout the first year of life and to investigate associations of postnatal HPG axis dynamics as well as hormonal, genetic and environmental exposures with early genital development and growth.PopulationHealthy, Danish, full-term, singleton newborns including their parents.DesignSingle-centre, prospective, observational longitudinal pregnancy and birth cohort.MethodsNewborns were followed with six repeated clinical examinations during a one-year follow-up period. An umbilical cord blood sample was drawn at birth. At each visit, infants underwent a clinical examination focusing on auxology and genital development. Further, blood (serum, plasma, DNA) and urine samples were collected at each visit. Mothers and fathers underwent a clinical examination and provided blood samples prior to and after birth. A subset of parents provided urine samples and breast milk samples. Pregnancy and obstetrical outcomes, and detailed parental questionnaires were compiled.Preliminary resultsBetween August 2016 and August 2018, 2481 women with singleton pregnancies were invited to participate of which 298, including their partners, were enrolled (12.0%). A total of 268 healthy, full-term newborns born appropriate for gestational age (AGA) were included at birth, 233 newborns participated in the postnatal follow-up period and 186 completed the one-year follow-up period (9.4% and 7.5%, respectively).ConclusionThe COPENHAGEN Minipuberty Study provides detailed, longitudinal data on early genital development and growth including hormonal and genetic profiles and environmental exposure in healthy infants including additional data in their parents.

AB - BackgroundThe hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis governs sexual maturation and reproductive function in humans. In early postnatal life, it is transiently active during which circulating sex steroids reach adult levels. While this so-called minipuberty represents a universal phenomenon in infants of both sexes, its role for early maturation and growth remains incompletely understood.ObjectivesTo provide normative data on auxology as well as serum and urinary hormone levels in healthy, full-term infants throughout the first year of life and to investigate associations of postnatal HPG axis dynamics as well as hormonal, genetic and environmental exposures with early genital development and growth.PopulationHealthy, Danish, full-term, singleton newborns including their parents.DesignSingle-centre, prospective, observational longitudinal pregnancy and birth cohort.MethodsNewborns were followed with six repeated clinical examinations during a one-year follow-up period. An umbilical cord blood sample was drawn at birth. At each visit, infants underwent a clinical examination focusing on auxology and genital development. Further, blood (serum, plasma, DNA) and urine samples were collected at each visit. Mothers and fathers underwent a clinical examination and provided blood samples prior to and after birth. A subset of parents provided urine samples and breast milk samples. Pregnancy and obstetrical outcomes, and detailed parental questionnaires were compiled.Preliminary resultsBetween August 2016 and August 2018, 2481 women with singleton pregnancies were invited to participate of which 298, including their partners, were enrolled (12.0%). A total of 268 healthy, full-term newborns born appropriate for gestational age (AGA) were included at birth, 233 newborns participated in the postnatal follow-up period and 186 completed the one-year follow-up period (9.4% and 7.5%, respectively).ConclusionThe COPENHAGEN Minipuberty Study provides detailed, longitudinal data on early genital development and growth including hormonal and genetic profiles and environmental exposure in healthy infants including additional data in their parents.

U2 - 10.1111/ppe.12777

DO - 10.1111/ppe.12777

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34156716

VL - 35

SP - 601

EP - 611

JO - Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology

JF - Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology

SN - 0269-5022

IS - 5

ER -