Assari Shervin, Boyce Shanika, Bazargan Mohsen, Caldwell Cleopatra H
Department of Family Medicine, Charles Drew University, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.
Department of Pediatrics, Charles Drew University, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.
Reprod Med (Basel). 2020 Sep;1(2):108-121. doi: 10.3390/reprodmed1020008. Epub 2020 Aug 3.
Although early sexual initiation and childbearing are major barriers against the upward social mobility of American adolescents, particularly those who belong to a low socioeconomic status (SES) and racial minorities such as Blacks, less is known on how SES and race correlate with adolescents' sex hormones. An understanding of the associations between race and SES with adolescents' sex hormones may help better understand why racial, and SES gaps exist in sexual risk behaviors and teen pregnancies. To extend the existing knowledge on social patterning of adolescents' sex hormones, in the current study, we studied social patterning of sex hormones in a national sample of male and female American adolescents, with a particular interest in the role of race and SES. For this cross-sectional study, data came from the baseline data (wave 1) of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a national longitudinal prospective study of American adolescents. This analysis included 717 male and 576 female non-Hispanic White or Black adolescents ages 9-10. The dependent variables were sex hormones (testosterone for males and estradiol for females). Independent variables were age, race, family marital status, parental education, and financial difficulties. For data analysis, linear regression models were used. Age, race, parental education, and financial difficulties were associated with estradiol in female and testosterone levels in male adolescents. Associations were not identical for males and females, but the patterns were mainly similar. Low SES explained why race is associated with higher estradiol in female adolescents. Marital status of the family did not correlate with any of the sex hormones. Being Black and low SES were associated with a higher level of sex hormones in male and female adolescents. This information may help us understand the social patterning of sexual initiation and childbearing. Addressing racial and economic inequalities in early puberty, sexual initiation, and childbearing is an essential part of closing the racial and economic gaps in the US.
尽管过早开始性行为和生育是美国青少年社会向上流动的主要障碍，尤其是那些社会经济地位低下（SES）的青少年以及黑人等少数族裔，但关于SES和种族如何与青少年性激素相关联的了解却较少。了解种族和SES与青少年性激素之间的关联，可能有助于更好地理解为何在性风险行为和青少年怀孕方面存在种族和SES差距。为了扩展关于青少年性激素社会模式的现有知识，在当前研究中，我们在美国青少年的全国样本中研究了性激素的社会模式，特别关注种族和SES的作用。对于这项横断面研究，数据来自青少年大脑认知发展（ABCD）研究的基线数据（第1波），这是一项针对美国青少年的全国纵向前瞻性研究。该分析纳入了717名9至10岁的非西班牙裔白人或黑人男性青少年和576名女性青少年。因变量是性激素（男性为睾酮，女性为雌二醇）。自变量是年龄、种族、家庭婚姻状况、父母教育程度和经济困难。数据分析采用线性回归模型。年龄、种族、父母教育程度和经济困难与女性青少年的雌二醇水平以及男性青少年的睾酮水平相关。男性和女性青少年的关联并不完全相同，但模式主要相似。低SES解释了为什么种族与女性青少年较高的雌二醇水平相关。家庭婚姻状况与任何一种性激素均无关联。黑人身份和低SES与男性和女性青少年较高的性激素水平相关。这些信息可能有助于我们理解性行为开始和生育的社会模式。解决青春期早期、性行为开始和生育方面的种族和经济不平等问题，是缩小美国种族和经济差距的重要组成部分。
