Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun;44(6):1283-1289.
doi: 10.1007/s40618-020-01426-y. Epub 2020 Sep 30.

Exercise-induced GH secretion is related to puberty

C Bizzarri  1 , D Colabianchi  2 , G A Giannone  3 , L Di Luigi  4 , M Cappa  2
Affiliations

Exercise-induced GH secretion is related to puberty

C Bizzarri et al. J Endocrinol Invest. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: Exercise represents a physiological stimulus that initiates the coordinated responses of hypothalamic-pituitary axis and sympathetic nervous system. Aims of the study were: 1) to analyze the response of GH, cortisol and prolactin to acute exercise in healthy children with normal GH response to stimulation tests 2) to evaluate the reliability of physical exercise as a screening test for GH secretion.

Methods: Forty-four children (mean age 9.35 ± 2.69 years, range 4-13.7) underwent standardized Bruce's test on treadmill. Twenty-nine children were pre-pubertal (nine females and 20 males) and 15 children were pubertal (ten females and five males).

Results: Exercise elicited a peak secretion of all the analyzed hormones. GH showed the highest mean percentage increase (558%), followed by prolactin (178%) and cortisol (23%). In 19/44 children (43.2%), GH peak did not reach the cut-off level of 8 ng/ml, considered as the normal GH response to stimulation tests. Despite a wide inter-individual variability, both GH peak and GH increase from baseline were higher in pubertal children than in pre-pubertal ones (GH peak: 13.49 ± 10.28 ng/ml versus 6.6 ± 4.09 ng/ml-p < 0.001; GH increase: 12.02 ± 10.30 ng/ml versus 5.28 ± 3.97 ng/ml-p < 0.001). The impact of puberty on both GH peak and GH increase was independent of sex, age, BMI SDS and VO2max. No differences related to sex or pubertal status were found in cortisol and prolactin responses.

Conclusion: Exercise-induced GH secretion should not be considered a valuable screening tool in the diagnostic work-up of GH deficiency, due to the wide inter-individual variability in GH response. As described for standard GH stimulation tests, puberty represents the key factor that enhances GH secretion in healthy children.

Keywords: Child puberty; Cortisol; Exercise; Growth hormone; Prolactin.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Richmond E, Rogol AD (2016) Endocrine responses to exercise in the developing child and adolescent. Front Horm Res 47:58–67. https://doi.org/10.1159/000445157 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Eliakim A, Nemet D (2013) The endocrine response to exercise and training in young athletes. Pediatr Exerc Sci 25(4):605–615. https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.25.4.605 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Borer KT (1995) The effects of exercise on growth. Sports Med (Auckland, N.Z.) 20(6):375–397. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199520060-00004 - DOI
    1. Eliakim A, Nemet D (2008) Exercise provocation test for growth hormone secretion: methodologic considerations. Pediatr Exerc Sci 20(4):370–378. https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.20.4.370 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Greene SA, Torresani T, Prader A (1987) Growth hormone response to a standardised exercise test in relation to puberty and stature. Arch Dis Child 62(1):53–56. https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.62.1.53 - DOI - PubMed - PMC