Biological Maturation and Hormonal Markers, Relationship to Neuromotor Performance in Female Children

Abstract

Background: Mechanisms that influence muscle strength can interfere with neuromotor performance and overall health, thus hormone markers and maturation can interact in this process. Objective: The present study aimed to verify the relationship of hormonal markers and biological maturation on neuromotor abilities in young people. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study with 44 female participants (11.5 ± 1.5 years). Hormones were analyzed biochemically. Skeletal and somatic maturation were analyzed using anthropometry. The muscular power of the upper and lower limbs, body speed with change of direction, and speed of the upper limbs were verified. Results: Bone age was correlated with hormonal markers (estradiol: r = 0.58; p = 0.0007), (testosterone: r = 0.51; p = 0.005). Peak growth velocity correlated with estradiol (r = 0.51; p = 0.004). The power of the lower limbs (estradiol: r = 0.52; p = 0.006; testosterone: r = 0.42; p = 0.03) and of the upper limbs (estradiol: r = 0.51; p = 0.007; testosterone: r = 0.42; p = 0.02) had a positive correlation with hormone levels and had similar results with maturation. The analysis by artificial neural networks indicated that the maturation can predict the neuromotor performance between 57.4% and 76%, while the hormonal markers showed a potential of more than 95% for the foreshadowing of the neuromotor performance of the upper limbs. Conclusion: It was possible to conclude that the hormones had a relationship with maturational development and bone age in female subjects.

Can the Neuromuscular Performance of Young Athletes Be Influenced by Hormone Levels and Different Stages of Puberty?

“…Each stage of puberty has different characteristics in relation to biological maturation; the endocrine system receives different stimuli, and hormonal levels stand out as one of the main differences between the different levels of puberty [11,12]. Subjects with precocious puberty generally have hormonal levels higher than those of late and synchronized puberty [13,14].…”

“…The maturation process resulting from adolescence is strongly governed by reactions from a range of hormones, which affect the maturation rhythm of young people in favor of the increase in sex hormones [15]. Sex hormones, such as estradiol, testosterone, and growth hormone, have extremely important functions in human biological development, which can mainly affect morphological structure, skeletal growth, and muscle strength levels [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. In this context, among neuromuscular parameters, muscle strength and body speed are two of the most essential for body functionality in relation to physical health, and for the development of specific skills related to sports performance [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”

“…In female subjects, as puberty advances, the levels of steroid hormones tend to increase, pointing to a significant relationship with the levels of muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs [14]. In addition, the secretion of steroid hormones during puberty generates changes in the physical profiles and secondary sexual characteristics of subjects of both sexes [20,21].…”

“…In addition, the secretion of steroid hormones during puberty generates changes in the physical profiles and secondary sexual characteristics of subjects of both sexes [20,21]. At the endocrine level, the stages of advanced puberty are characterized by a predominance of sex hormones in the body [14,15]. However, young people from the same maturation stage may have different levels of hormones in the body [22].…”

The Effectiveness of Biological Maturation and Lean Mass in Relation to Muscle Strength Performance in Elite Young Athletes

“…For example, Azimi et al [4] identified that the muscular strength of young elite Iranian weight lifters was influenced by the accumulation of lean mass, however, the authors did not analyze the possible interaction of biological maturation, which could have confounded this interpretation. In addition, other studies have identified that BA, CA and sex all have independent significant relationships with the production of muscle strength in young athletes and non-athletes [19][20][21][22][23].…”