Pubertal Status and Age are Differentially Associated with Inflammatory Biomarkers in Female and Male Adolescents

A better understanding of the maturational correlates of inflammatory activity during adolescence is needed to more appropriately study both normal and abnormal development. Inflammation is the immune system’s first response to infection, injury, or psychological stress, and it has been shown to be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth and adolescence 2020-07, Vol.49 (7), p.1379-1392
Main Authors: Stumper, Allison, Moriarity, Daniel P., Coe, Christopher L., Ellman, Lauren M., Abramson, Lyn Y., Alloy, Lauren B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescents
Autoimmune Diseases - metabolism
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biomarkers
Biomarkers - metabolism
Child and School Psychology
Child development
Clinical Psychology
Female
Females
Growth Disorders - metabolism
Health Psychology
History of Psychology
Humans
Inflammation - metabolism
Injuries
Law and Psychology
Male
Males
Psychological aspects
Psychological distress
Psychology
Puberty
Puberty - immunology
Puberty - physiology
Risk Factors
Sex Factors
Stress, Psychological - metabolism
Teenagers
Tumor necrosis factor-TNF
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Summary:A better understanding of the maturational correlates of inflammatory activity during adolescence is needed to more appropriately study both normal and abnormal development. Inflammation is the immune system’s first response to infection, injury, or psychological stress, and it has been shown to be elevated in individuals with both physical and psychological conditions. This study examined unique associations between (1) pubertal status and inflammatory biomarkers, and (2) age and inflammatory biomarkers, and whether these relationships differed by sex in a diverse sample of 155 adolescents (54.2% female, 45.8% male; M age  = 16.22) from a northeastern city in the US. A more advanced pubertal status was uniquely associated with lower levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). Chronological age was uniquely associated with lower IL-8 levels. The association between pubertal status and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels differed by sex: more mature females had higher CRP, whereas pubertal status and CRP were not significantly associated in males. These findings highlight an important relation between pubertal development and inflammatory activity during adolescence.
ISSN:0047-2891
1573-6601
DOI:10.1007/s10964-019-01101-3