Objective: To investigate the correlation between menstrual cycles, ovulation, and adrenal suppression in congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Design: Prospective observational study.
Setting: An academic outpatient clinic.
Patient(s): Five females with salt-wasting 21-hydroxylase deficiency, aged 15.5 to 22.9 years; one had amenorrhea, one had irregular bleeding, and three had regular bleeding.
Intervention(s): Daily morning saliva sampling for 40 to 280 days.
Main outcome measure(s): Salivary levels of progesterone (P), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), and androstenedione.
Result(s): In the amenorrheic patient, the elevated P and 17-OHP levels decreased when the glucocorticoid dose was increased, and subsequently menarche occurred. The androstenedione levels were normal. The correlations between P and 17-OHP levels before and after menarche suggest that adrenal progesterone had prevented menarche. The patient with irregular bleeding showed slightly elevated androstenedione levels and increased levels of 17-OHP and P in an irregular pattern, without correlation in time with vaginal bleeding. Three patients with regular cycles showed a biphasic pattern of P levels, indicating ovulation.
Conclusion(s): These longitudinal data support the hypothesis that menstrual cycling in females with 21-hydroxylase deficiency can be prevented or disturbed by elevated progesterone levels of adrenal origin, in the absence of androgen excess. Increasing glucocorticoid dose could suppress adrenal progesterone production, resulting in menarche.