These factors may cause "precocious puberty"! When children have these symptoms, parents should pay attention

Expert of this article: Li Congzhe, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Pediatrics, Tangshan Central Hospital

Every parent hopes that their children can grow up healthy and happy, and pays special attention to their children's growth and development in daily life. From infants to children, and then to adolescence, children's height, weight, secondary sexual characteristics, etc. are changing with age.

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But sometimes, growing and developing too fast is not necessarily a good thing. In recent years, more and more children with precocious puberty have been seen in hospitals, which shows that parents are paying more and more attention to their children's growth and development. On the other hand, it also shows that the incidence of precocious puberty is gradually increasing. However, many parents are still not very clear about precocious puberty. Today, let's take a closer look.

What is precocious puberty?

Usually girls start to develop secondary sexual characteristics at the age of 10-12 and boys at the age of 12-14. If girls develop secondary sexual characteristics before the age of 8 and boys before the age of 9, it is called precocious puberty. The main manifestations are enlarged testicles in boys and breast development in girls. Girls usually develop precocious puberty about 1-2 years earlier than boys.

What are the causes of precocious puberty?

Depending on whether the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis function is activated, it is divided into central precocious puberty and peripheral precocious puberty.

Central precocious puberty (also known as true precocious puberty) has secondary sexual characteristics, as well as the development of the ovaries and testicles. The development sequence is basically the same as normal puberty, but the age is significantly earlier. The cause is relatively complex. Some are idiopathic precocious puberty, the cause is still unclear, and some may be related to intracranial masses, infection, trauma, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hypothyroidism, etc.

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Peripheral precocious puberty (also known as pseudo-precocious puberty) usually involves the development of secondary sexual characteristics and increased levels of sex hormones, but without the development of ovaries or testicles. The cause may be related to tumors, adrenal diseases, etc. In addition, the use of some drugs, foods, cosmetics, etc. containing estrogen may also lead to precocious puberty.

What are the symptoms of precocious puberty?

The most important symptom of precocious puberty is the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. The earliest sign in girls is breast development. At first, lumps appear in the breasts, and the nipples and areolas enlarge. Then there are changes in pubic hair and external genitalia, and finally the first menstruation.

The earliest symptom in boys is testicular enlargement, followed by the development of the scrotum and penis, and the appearance of pigmentation, followed by pubic hair, acne, voice change, beard, etc. When secondary sexual characteristics appear, they are also accompanied by accelerated growth in height and weight.

For parents, breast development in girls is easier to spot, while it may be difficult for parents to notice the early development of boys. Therefore, parents should pay more attention to the developmental signs of their children. In addition, along with the physical changes, the child's psychology and personality will also change, so parents also need to pay special attention.

How to determine whether it is precocious puberty?

Judging whether a child has precocious puberty is actually a very professional matter. If parents find that their child has developed secondary sexual characteristics too early, they should go to the hospital in time and undergo a series of examinations to determine whether it is precocious puberty, including sex hormone levels, bone age, ultrasound, etc.

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For example, bone age can be assessed by clapping hands and wrist X-rays. Generally, the difference between actual age and bone age is not large, mostly within 1 year. If the bone age is significantly higher than the actual age, then precocious puberty should be considered. Ultrasound examinations are usually more necessary for girls. Ultrasound is used to observe the development of the girl's ovaries and uterus to determine whether puberty has occurred.

What are the dangers of precocious puberty?

The biggest harm of precocious puberty to children is that it affects their final height in adulthood and the social and psychological problems related to precocious puberty.

Premature sexual development brings about rapid growth in height, but also causes premature fusion of the epiphyses. Once the epiphyseal lines are closed, there is no room for further growth, which ultimately makes the child shorter than the average person in adulthood.

In addition, precocious puberty may also cause some psychological problems. Premature sexual development increases the psychological burden on children, resulting in negative emotions such as inferiority complex, which reduces their interest in learning and academic performance, and has long-term adverse effects on their mental health.

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Precocious puberty may also lead to early sexual behavior. Other studies have shown that precocious puberty is also related to health in adulthood, and may increase the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, tumors and other diseases.

Can precocious puberty be treated?

The goals of treatment for precocious puberty are to slow the progression of development, inhibit skeletal maturation, improve final adult height, and reduce psychosocial problems associated with precocious puberty.

Before treatment, a professional doctor needs to make a full judgment to decide whether intervention is necessary. The commonly used treatment method is to inject gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa), which can inhibit the pituitary-gonadal axis and reduce the secretion of sex hormones, thereby controlling sexual development, delaying bone maturation, and improving final height.

Some children may experience a significant slowdown in growth during the treatment process. In this case, it is necessary to consider the combined use of growth hormone to achieve the ideal height.

It should be noted that once precocious puberty is confirmed, regardless of whether treatment is needed, you should go to the hospital for regular check-ups every three months.

How to prevent precocious puberty?

Eat right and control your weight

Studies have shown that obesity is a major cause of precocious puberty. Avoid high-calorie foods such as high-sugar and fried foods in your diet. In addition, an unreasonable diet (excessive intake of meat), sugary drinks and health products are also risk factors for precocious puberty in children.

The diet should appropriately increase the intake of foods rich in dietary fiber, such as vegetables, fruits, and grains. At the same time, increasing physical exercise and effectively controlling weight will help prevent precocious puberty.

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Develop good sleeping habits

Good sleep can not only promote the secretion of growth hormone to ensure height growth, but also produce more melatonin, which can inhibit the release of pituitary gonadotropin and prevent precocious puberty. Good sleeping habits include going to bed early, getting enough sleep, not eating too much before going to bed, and not sleeping with the lights on.

Avoid using adult cosmetics

Some cosmetics for adults may contain hormones, including glucocorticoids or estrogens. If children use such cosmetics for a long time, it may lead to precocious puberty.

In addition, some plastic products may contain plasticizers, bisphenol A and other ingredients, which may also be related to precocious puberty. Therefore, children should reduce the use of plastic products, including plastic toys, plastic bottles, etc. Parents should also try to reduce the time children spend watching mobile phones, tablets and TV.

Another thing to note is to prevent children from accidentally taking birth control pills! Contraceptive pills must be kept out of the reach of children.

During the child's growth and development

Pay more attention to your child’s physical and mental changes

If you find that your child has premature development

Seek medical attention promptly

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