Serum and Hair Steroid Profiles and Their Associations with Body Composition in Adolescence

This study compared serum and hair steroid hormone profiles in 241 adolescents (104 girls, 137 boys) aged 15 to 16 years from the PANIC study in Kuopio, Finland, to assess their associations with body size and composition. The research found that hair samples provided distinct steroid profiles, including pregnenolone, cortisone, cortisol, and various androgens, indicating active peripheral metabolism. Androgen levels in both serum and hair were more strongly correlated with body size and composition in boys than in girls, suggesting sex-specific metabolic regulation. The study concludes that hair steroid profiling is a feasible, non-invasive alternative to serum analysis, capturing systemic hormone levels and localized metabolic activity, with potential for clinical endocrinology pending further validation.