{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T06:03:45Z","timestamp":1789625025949,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Reprod. Health"],"abstract":"\n Objectives<\/jats:title>\n To determine whether anogenital distance (AGD), a potential non-invasive biomarker reflecting prenatal androgen exposure, differs between adolescents with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis and matched controls.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n This IRB-approved, matched case\u2013control study was conducted at a single pediatric hospital between March 2024 and June 2025. Twenty adolescents aged 13\u201325 years were enrolled: 10 with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis and 10 controls (three asymptomatic, seven laparoscopically confirmed without endometriosis), matched by age (\u00b11 year) and body mass index (BMI) (\u00b12\u2005kg\/m\n 2<\/jats:sup>\n ). AGD was measured under anesthesia from the clitoral surface to the anus (AGD-AC) and from the posterior fourchette to the anus (AGD-AF). Within-pair mean differences were calculated using paired\n t<\/jats:italic>\n -tests.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n The mean AGD-AC was 9.4\u2009\u00b1\u20091.2\u2005cm in cases versus 9.7\u2009\u00b1\u20091.4\u2005cm in matched controls; the mean AGD-AF was 3.5\u2009\u00b1\u20090.5\u2005cm in cases versus 3.2\u2009\u00b1\u20090.8\u2005cm in matched controls. Paired\n t<\/jats:italic>\n -tests showed no significant differences in either [mean difference AGD-AC\u2009=\u20090.297, 95% CI (\u22120.85 to 1.44)\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.57; AGD-AF\u2009=\u2009\u22120.327, 95% CI ( \u22120.88 to 0.23)\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u2009=\u20090.22]. Substantial overlap was observed across groups, and no significant differences were identified for either AGD measure.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n We did not detect a difference in AGD measurements between adolescents with laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis and age and BMI-matched controls; however, with only 10 matched pairs, this study was powered to detect only a large effect, and therefore, these null findings should be interpreted cautiously. Larger longitudinal studies are warranted to assess whether AGD correlates with disease onset, severity, or progression.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/frph.2026.1951393","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T05:32:21Z","timestamp":1789623141000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Anogenital distance as a biomarker for endometriosis in adolescents: a prospective, matched case\u2013control study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Jessica Y.","family":"Shim","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gynecology, Department of Surgery, Boston Children\u2019s Hospital","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ava","family":"Scatoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gynecology, Department of Surgery, Boston Children\u2019s Hospital","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel W.","family":"Cramer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steven J.","family":"Staffa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, Boston Children\u2019s Hospital","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marc R.","family":"Laufer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gynecology, Department of Surgery, Boston Children\u2019s Hospital","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elizabeth R.","family":"Boskey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gynecology, Department of Surgery, Boston Children\u2019s Hospital","place":["Boston, MA, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"570","DOI":"10.1093\/humupd\/dmt016","article-title":"Prevalence of endometriosis diagnosed by laparoscopy in adolescents with dysmenorrhea or chronic pelvic pain: a systematic review","volume":"19","author":"Janssen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Hum Reprod Update"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"963","DOI":"10.1093\/humrep\/deu363","article-title":"First trimester 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