Adolescent girls face significant energetic trade-offs resulting from the concurrent demands of somatic growth and reproductive maturation. The hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) is a mediator of energy allocation. However, its longitudinal role during this critical transition is unclear. Hypothesis: HPAA activity should be positively linked with energy mobilization and inversely linked with energy storage, both pre- and post-menarche. We quantified first morning urine biomarkers of HPAA activity (cortisol), potential energy uptake (c-peptide), and energy storage (adiponectin) collected pre-to post-menarche from 46 Mayan girls. We used mixed effects models to characterize HPAA activity and metabolic energy status across menarche stages. Adiponectin and c-peptide were higher pre- versus post-menarche (p < 0.001) after adjusting for cortisol and time relative to menarche. Cortisol was positively associated with both c-peptide and adiponectin after adjusting for time relative to menarche (p < 0.001). Consistent with our hypothesis, HPAA activity was positively linked to energy mobilization across the adolescent transition. Energy uptake was higher pre-menarche, a possible response to energetic demands imposed by somatic and reproductive maturation. Energy storage was higher post-menarche, which may help meet future reproductive energy needs. Understanding changes in energy metabolism during the adolescent transition is paramount to optimizing women’s development and health across their life span.
Rowlands et al. (Sat,) studied this question.