Postnatal Changes in Testicular Position Are Associated With IGF-I and Function of Sertoli and Leydig Cells

Context: Despite clinical guidelines calling for repetitive examination of testicular position during childhood, little is known of normal changes in testicular position during childhood, let alone factors that control it. Objective: To assess changes in and factors associated with testicular position during childhood. Design: Testicular position (the distance from the pubic bone to the upper pole of the testes) at birth, 3 months, 18 months, 36 months, and 7 years and reproductive hormones at 3 months were measured. Setting: Prenatally recruited, prospective longitudinal birth cohort. Participants: A total of 2545 boys were recruited prenatally in a Danish-Finnish birth cohort and had a testicular position examination available. A subset of 680 Danish and 362 Finnish boys had serum reproductive hormone concentrations and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) determined at 3 months. Main Outcome Measures: Testicular distance to pubic bone (TDP), serum reproductive hormone, and IGF-I concentrations. Results: TDP increased from birth to 3 months and decreased thereafter. Length, gestational age, weight for gestational age, and penile length were positively associated with larger TDP and thus lower testicular position in a linear mixed-effect model. Furthermore, IGF-I concentration, inhibin B/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio, and testosterone/luteinizing hormone ratio were all independently and positively associated with longer TDP. Conclusions: We provide longitudinal data on postnatal changes in TDP. TDP is dynamic and associated with Leydig and Sertoli cell function as well as with IGF-I levels during the first months of life at mini-puberty of infancy. TDP may thus be a useful biomarker of postnatal testicular function.