Sex-differentiated changes in C-reactive protein from ages 9 to 21: The contributions of BMI and physical/sexual maturation

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Lily Shanahan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; William E. Copeland, Duke University; Carol Worthman, Emory University; Alaattin Erkanli, Duke University; Adrian Angold, Duke University; E. Jane Costello, Duke University
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-10
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.04.010
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Psychoneuroendocrinology
• ISSN: 0306-4530
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 10
• Start Page: 2209
• End Page: 2217
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH63970, MH63671, MH48085, MH094605), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA/MH11301), the William T. Grant Foundation, and a NARSAD Early Career Award to W.E.C.
• Keywords: young adulthood; puberty; testosterone; C-reactive protein; sex differences; BMI; adolescence
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Epidemiology; Health Sciences, Human Development

Abstract

Background: Sex differences in levels of C-reactive Protein (CRP) are well established in adulthood, but little is known about when and why they emerge. Here, we tested longitudinal models of CRP levels from ages 9–21, when marked physical and behavioral changes could contribute to growing sex disparities in CRP. Methods: Data from the community-based prospective-longitudinal Great Smoky Mountains Study (N = 1,420) were used. Participants were 9–13 years old at intake and were followed through age 21. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) was assayed from up to nine bloodspot collections per person. BMI, physical/sexual maturation, substance use, and control variables were assessed during yearly interviews to age 16, and at ages 19 and 21. Results: Multilevel models revealed that the development of CRP in females was best described by a quadratic trend: After slow increases in CRP until age 15, the rate of increase accelerated thereafter. Changes in CRP in males were best described by a smaller, linear increase. After sex-differentiated associations with BMI, physical/sexual maturation, and substance use variables had been accounted for, increases in CRP after age 15 no longer differed by sex. Conclusion: Physical/sexual maturation and behavioral changes during adolescence could initiate life-long sex disparities in CRP.