Prepubertal girls with premature adrenarche have greater bone mineral content and density than controls

Body composition in premature adrenarche (PA) has not been described. We hy pothesized that the increased adrenal androgens in PA would have a trophic effect on lean body components. We studied 14 PA subjects and 16 controls, all prepubertal Hispanic girls. The body composition parameters tested incl uded height, weight, bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC) , nonbone fat-free massy total body potassium, total body water, and extrac ellular water. Bone age was determined in all PA subjects. Compared with controls, PA subjects had significantly higher BMC (P = 0.02) and BMD (P = 0.03) when adjusted for age, weight, height, and fat mass, bu t were not different in the following lean body components: fat-free mass, total body potassium; total body water, and extracellular water. There was no difference in BMD or BMC between the PA subjects with and without advanc ed bone age. These data suggest a specific effect of PA on bone mineral, but not on othe r lean body components. The absence of a correlation between bone age and b one mineral in this small group leads us to propose there are separate prom oters of bone age advancement and bone mineral accrual. Candidate hormones for these processes include adrenal androgens, E, and IGF-I. The findings o f this study suggest that hormonal alterations associated with PA affect bo ne mineral accrual and may elucidate the mechanisms involved in this proces s.