{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T02:44:47Z","timestamp":1774579487729,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"The Endocrine Society","issue":"7","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2006,7,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Context: Recent studies showed that male reproductive health problems, such as cryptorchidism, hypospadias, testicular cancer, and low sperm quality, are more prevalent in Denmark than in Finland.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Objectives: We hypothesized that, if fetal testicular dysgenesis contributed to these observations, differences in gonadal development and the hypothalamus-pituitary-testis axis would already be detectable perinatally. Thus, we investigated healthy newborn boys in both countries.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Design: This was a prospective, longitudinal population-based study.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Setting: Two primary obstetric centers were included at the University Hospitals of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Turku, Finland.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Participants: The participants of the study included 633 Danish and 1044 Finnish boys, born at term with appropriate weight for gestational age.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Interventions: Ultrasound determination of testis size at 0, 3, and 18 months and blood sampling (n = 727) at 3 months were analyzed.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Main Outcome Measures: Testicular volume and reproductive hormones were measured.<\/jats:p><jats:p>Results: Testis volume was significantly higher at all ages in Finnish than in Danish boys (medians, 98 vs. 95, 185 vs. 119, and 188 vs. 136 mm3, respectively; P &amp;lt; 0.00001). Testis growth from birth to 3 months was larger in Finnish than in Danish boys (mean, 75 vs. 26 mm3; P &amp;lt; 0.0001). Serum hormone levels were higher in Finnish than Danish boys for inhibin B (median, 456 vs. 385 pg\/ml; P &amp;lt; 0.0001), FSH (1.33 vs. 1.21 IU\/liter; P &amp;lt; 0.036), and SHBG (143 vs. 136 nmol\/liter; P &amp;lt; 0.022). Inhibin B was significantly positively correlated to testicular volume (r = 0.25; P &amp;lt; 0.006).<\/jats:p><jats:p>Conclusions: The larger testes and higher inhibin B levels most likely represent a bigger volume of seminiferous tubules in Finnish compared with Danish boys. Although this phenomenon may be attributable to a genetic difference between the two countries, it may also reflect environmental factors influencing testicular development.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1210\/jc.2005-2443","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2006,4,5]],"date-time":"2006-04-05T00:33:33Z","timestamp":1144197213000},"page":"2732-2737","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":83,"title":["Larger Testes and Higher Inhibin B Levels in Finnish than in Danish Newborn Boys"],"prefix":"10.1210","volume":"91","author":[{"given":"Katharina M.","family":"Main","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University Department of Growth and Reproduction (K.M.M., A.-M.S., M.C., I.M.S., K.A.B., C.M.K., I.N.D., N.E.S.), Rigshospitalet, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jorma","family":"Toppari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of Physiology and Paediatrics (J.T., A.-M.S., M.K., H.E.V.), 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