Neonatal Sex-Steroid Hormones and Physical Size at Four Years

This study investigated the relationships of neonatal sex-steroid hormones to preschool children's size. Two measures of size were considered: a unidimensional measure of height and a weight-for-height ratio. Results showed a significant positive relationship between girls' neonatal progesterone and the weight-for-height ratio at age four. A negative association of this ratio with an estrogen composite measure was also found. High testosterone girls had higher weight-for-height ratios than low testosterone girls. A significant positive association between the estrogen composite and height was found for boys. These findings indicate that neonatal hormone levels are important complements to environmental factors (e.g., nutrition) in predicting later growth.