Early Puberty

Children, in general, usually tend to copy adults’ behaviors, but in the case of early puberty, they actually reach puberty before its normal time, and that could affect many aspects of their lives.

Early puberty

Early, or precocious, puberty is when a child reaches the puberty phase before its normal age (before 8 in girls and before 9 in boys).

Puberty means the phase in which a child’s body starts to develop physical and sexual features of an adult, and the normal age of puberty is 8-13 years old in girls and 9-14 years old in boys.

Early puberty occurs in females more than males.

Causes of early puberty

Normally, puberty begins in the brain when it makes a hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), and this hormone goes to the pituitary gland in the brain. This, in turn, leads to an increase in the sexual hormones (estrogen in the ovaries and testosterone in the testicles), and those hormones are responsible for the changes that occur during puberty.

Early puberty is divided into two types:

• Central precocious puberty: it occurs when there’s an increase in the GnRH, which, in turn, causes a rise in the testosterone and progesterone. The causes might include brain trauma, brain tumors, brain infections, and radiation treatment.
• Peripheral precocious puberty: it occurs when there isn’t a problem in the GnRH; rather, the problem might be in the sexual organs, the adrenal glands, or the pituitary gland. The causes might include tumors in the adrenal glands, pituitary gland, ovaries, or testicles, severe hypothyroidism, disorders in the adrenal glands, ovarian cysts in girls, and being exposed to skin products that contain estrogen or testosterone.

The risk of precocious puberty might increase due to several factors, such as:

• Overweight and obesity.
• Not exercising enough.
• If the time of the mother’s menarche is early.
• Living in contaminated environments.
• Not sleeping enough.
• Consumption of higher than normal amounts of nutritional supplements and protein, which give high energy levels.

Symptoms of early puberty

• Acne.
• Adult body odor.
• Rapid growth.
• Pubic and armpit hair.
• First period and breast growth in females.
• Facial hair, deepening voice, and the growth of the reproductive organs (penis and testicles) in males.
• Precocious puberty probably leads to a short height in addition to emotional and social problems.

Diagnosis of early puberty

• Physical examination.
• Blood tests.
• Imaging tests.

Treatment of early puberty

• Treating early puberty depends on the type and cause.
• The risk of precocious puberty could be decreased by encouraging the children to stay at a healthy weight and keeping any hormonal things away from them.