Table 4 Summary of articles describing sex differences in pharmacological stress tests
From: Is HPA axis reactivity in childhood gender-specific? A systematic review
Author (year) | Sample size | Age | Study protocol | Sampling points | Sampling medium | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dahl (1992) | 25 | 10.3 ± 1.6 years | CRH challenge: 1 μg/kg i.v. in the late afternoon | 9×, 3 before, 6 after | Blood | Greater peak in boys |
Dorn (1996) | 20 control subjects | 15.1 ± 1.0 years | CRH challenge: 1 μg/kg i.v. in the evening | 12×, 6 before, 6 after | Blood | No sex differences; groups matched for pubertal status, effect not analyzed |
Forest (1978) | 20 infants, 35 prepubertal children | Infants: 5–365 days; children: 1–12.6 years | ACTH test: 500 μg/m2 i.m. at 8:00 and 20:00 on 3 days | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Blood | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed |
Lashansky (1991) | 102 | 2 months–17 years | ACTH test: 0.25 mg i.v. in the morning | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Blood | No sex differences; decrease in stimulated cortisol levels with puberty, more pronounced in boys |
Ross (1986) | 21 | 6–15 years | CRH challenge: 1 μg/kg i.v. in the evening | 7×, 2 before, 5 after | Blood | No sex differences; pubertal status not associated with reactivity |
Stroud (2011) | 68 | 11.6 ± 1.9 years | CRH challenge: 1 μg/kg i.v. in the late afternoon | 9–10×, 3 before, 6–7 after | Blood | Sex by Tanner differences: girls increase and boys decrease in cortisol with pubertal maturation, girls decrease and boys are stable in reactivity. Boys have larger peak change |
Tsvetkova (1977) | 31 | 4–14 years | ACTH test: 0.5 mg i.m. in the morning | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Blood | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed |