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Gender-specific differences in hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis activity during childhood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Overview of attention for article published in Biology of Sex Differences, January 2017
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Title
Gender-specific differences in hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis activity during childhood: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Published in
Biology of Sex Differences, January 2017
DOI 10.1186/s13293-016-0123-5
Pubmed ID
Authors

Bibian van der Voorn, Jonneke J. Hollanders, Johannes C. F. Ket, Joost Rotteveel, Martijn J. J. Finken

Abstract

Gender-specific differences in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity have been postulated to emerge during puberty. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to test the hypothesis that gender-specific differences in HPA axis activity are already present in childhood. From inception to January 2016, PubMed and EMBASE.com were searched for studies that assessed non-stimulated cortisol in serum or saliva or cortisol in 24-h urine in healthy males and females aged ≤18 years. Studies that conform with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement were reported. Standardized mean differences (95% CIs) were calculated and analyzed using fixed-effect meta-analysis stratified for age: <8 years (prepubertal) and 8-18 years (peri-/postpubertal). For comparison, we ran the same analyses using random-effects models. Two independent assessors selected 413 out of 6158 records (7%) for full-text screening, of which 79 articles were included. Of these, 58 (with data on 16,551 subjects) were included in the meta-analysis. Gender differences in cortisol metabolism differed per age group. Boys aged <8 years had 0.18 (0.06; 0.30) nmol/L higher serum and 0.21 (0.05; 0.37) nmol/L higher salivary cortisol levels, while between 8 and 18 years, boys had 0.34 (0.28; 0.40) nmol/L lower serum and 0.42 (0.38; 0.47) nmol/L lower salivary cortisol levels. In 24-h urine, cortisol was consistently higher in boys, being 0.34 (0.05; 0.64) and 0.32 (0.17; 0.47) μg/24 h higher in the <8- and 8-18-year groups, respectively. However, gender-differences in serum cortisol <8 years and between 8 and 18 years were absent when using random-effects models. Gender differences in cortisol metabolism are already present in childhood, with higher salivary cortisol in boys aged <8 years compared to girls. This pattern was reversed after the age of 8 years. In contrast, the gender-specific difference in cortisol production as assessed through 24-h urine did not change with age. Although differences were small, and analyses of gender differences in serum cortisol were inconclusive, they might contribute to gender-specific origins of health and disease.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 83 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 83 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 11 13%
Researcher 10 12%
Student > Master 8 10%
Student > Bachelor 8 10%
Student > Doctoral Student 6 7%
Other 19 23%
Unknown 21 25%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 13 16%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 9 11%
Psychology 9 11%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 8 10%
Neuroscience 7 8%
Other 11 13%
Unknown 26 31%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 21 March 2024.
All research outputs
#6,492,441
of 25,530,891 outputs
Outputs from Biology of Sex Differences
#234
of 587 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#109,721
of 421,429 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Biology of Sex Differences
#5
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,530,891 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 74th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 587 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 18.9. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 60% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 421,429 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than 2 of them.