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Ontogeny of β-Endorphin and Cortisol in the Plasma of Children and Adolescents^*

Brain Research Center (B.H.H., A.A.S., M.K.H.) and the Departments of Psychiatry (B.H.H.), Psychology (B.H.H.), Neurosurgery (M.K.H.), and Allergy/Immunology (S.J.), Children’s Hospital National Medical Center, and the Departments of Psychiatry (B.H.H.), Neurosurgery (M.K.H.), Allergy/Immunology (S.J.), and Child Health and Development (B.H.H., M.K.H., S.J.), George Washington University School of Medicine Washington, D.C. 20010

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Barbara H. Herman, Ph.D., Brain Research Center, Children’s Hospital National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20010.

The ontogeny of plasma β-endorphin (B-E) and cortisol concentrations was studied in normal children (3–11 yr old) and adolescents (12–18 yr old) of several ethnic backgrounds. The morning plasma concentrations did not significantly differ as a function of sex or age for either B-E [males (n = 88), 7.19 ± 0.39 (±SE) pmol/L; females (n = 73), 6.80 ± 0.50 pmol/L] or cortisol [males (n = 87), 383 ± 14 nmol/L; females (n = 69), 359 ± 20 nmol/L]. There was a small but significant positive correlation between plasma B-E and cortisol concentrations. When sampled immediately after venipuncture, there were no significant differences in the plasma B-E or cortisol concentrations of children who cried during venipuncture compared with those who did not. These data suggest that morning plasma B-E and cortisol concentrations are constant throughout childhood, adolescence, and into early adulthood.

^* This work was supported in part by grants from the Board of Lady Visitors of CHNMC and NIH Grant HD-23330-01 (to B.H.H.).

Received November 9, 1987.