Body fat distribution in Turner syndrome and the influence of puberty.

Abstract

Girls with Turner syndrome (TS) may encounter a wide range of problems. We aim to describe the body composition and its relation to the pubertal development, in affected girls. Precocious pubarche has been found to be associated with excess total body and central fat mass throughout all pubertal stages1. Early menarche has impact on body fatness2. In girls with TS, growth hormone (GH) was associated with favourable changes in body composition3. The consensus, with respect to the association between body composition and pubertal development, has still not been reached in those with TS. We therefore set out to determine the body fat distribution in Irish girls with TS who have attained with breast Tanner stage 2 or more with or without menarche. The influence of pubertal development on fat distribution was also examined. The fat mass of the total body, trunk, arms, and legs was estimated by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Fisher’s Exact test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare groups and correlation was assessed using the Pearson’s or Spearman method, where appropriate.