Postnatal Assessment of Minipuberty in Indian Preterm and Full-term Male Infants

To study the differences in the timing and magnitude of postnatal urinary gonadotropins and testosterone secretion during minipuberty in Indian preterm (PT) and full-term (FT) male infants.

This prospective observational study included 30 PT and 60 FT male infants. Urinary luteinizing hormone (LH), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone, and stretched penile length (SPL) and testicular volume (TV) were measured on day 7, first month, second month, fourth month and at six months of age.

The highest elevation of mean (SD) urinary LH was observed in PT infants in comparison to FT infants [12.6 (1.4) vs 4.9 (0.6) µIU/mg, respectively; P < 0.001] in the first month. FSH levels were lower in PT than FT infants on day 7 (P < 0.001). Testosterone was significantly elevated in PT than FT infants [70.8 (5.6) vs 44.6 (3.2) ng/mg; P < 0.001] with a greater mean percentage increase in SPL (P < 0.001) and TV (P < 0.001) by the first month.

Indian PT male infants showed a greater increase in urinary LH and testosterone, with a faster increase in SPL and TV.