Contents:
- Medical Video: Precocious Puberty
- Signs and symptoms of early puberty
- Causes of early puberty
- Central precocious puberty
- Peripheral precocious puberty
- Complications that can arise due to early puberty
- 1. Short body
- 2. Social and emotional problems
Medical Video: Precocious Puberty
Early puberty or often called precocious puberty is puberty that appears at a younger age than the minimum, namely before the age of 8 years in girls, and before 9 years in boys. According to two studies from the United States, early puberty can be as early as 7.7 years in girls and as early as 7.6 years in boys. To find out more about precocious puberty, let's look at it below.
Signs and symptoms of early puberty
As reported by MayoClinic, the signs and symptoms of early puberty before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in these boys are as follows:
Signs and symptoms in girls:
- Breast growth
- First menstruation
Signs and symptoms in boys
- Enlarged testes and penis
- Facial hair (usually a mustache is the first to grow)
- The sound becomes more "bass"
Signs and symptoms that occur in boys and girls
- Pubic or armpit hair
- Fast growth
- Acne
- Body odor like an adult
If your child has the above signs and symptoms, make an appointment with your pediatrician for further evaluation.
Causes of early puberty
To understand what causes early puberty in some children, you need to know in advance what causes puberty. This process involves the following steps:
- The brain starts processing. The brain makes a hormone called as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH).
- The pituitary gland releases more hormones. Gn-RH causes the pituitary gland (small pea-shaped gland at the base of the brain) to release hormones again. These hormones are referred to as luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).
- Sex hormones are produced. LH and FSH cause the ovaries to produce hormones involved in the growth and development of female sexual characteristics (estrogen) and testes to produce hormones that are responsible for the growth and development of male behavior (testosterone).
- Physical changes occur. The production of estrogen and testosterone causes physical changes to puberty.
Why this process starts earlier in some children depends on whether they have central precocious puberty or peripheral precocious puberty.
Central precocious puberty
In central precocious puberty, the puberty process starts too fast. The pattern and time of steps in the puberty process are normal. For most children with this condition, there are no underlying medical problems and no reason is identified for early puberty.
In rare cases, this may also be the cause of central precocious puberty, such as:
- Tumors in the brain or spinal cord (central nervous system).
- Disability in the brain from birth, such as excessive fluid buildup (hydrocephalus) or cancerous tumors (hamartoma).
- Radiation to the brain or spinal cord.
- Brain and spinal cord injury.
- McCune-Albright syndrome (a genetic disease that affects bones and skin color, which causes hormonal problems).
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (a group of genetic disorders that involve the production of abnormal hormones by the adrenal gland).
- Hypothyroidism (condition of the thyroid gland that does not produce enough hormones).
Peripheral precocious puberty
Estrogen or testosterone in your child's body causes this type of early puberty. Peripheral precocious puberty occurs without hormone involvement (Gn-RH) in the brain which usually triggers the onset of puberty. Conversely, the main cause is the release of estrogen or testosterone into the body because there are problems with the ovary, testis, adrenal gland or pituitary gland.
The cause of precursor puberty perifier for girls and boys, namely:
- A tumor in the adrenal gland or pituitary gland that secretes estrogen or testosterone.
- McCune-Albright syndrome
- Exposure to external sources of estrogen or testosterone, such as creams or ointments.
In girls, this condition can also be associated with:
- Ovarian cysts
- Ovarian tumor
In boys, precocious puberty perifier is also caused by:
- Tumors in cells that make sperm (germ cells) or in cells that make testosterone (Leydig cells).
- Gene mutation (a rare abnormality called gonadrotopin-independent familial sexual prececurity, it is caused by defects in the gene which results in the initial production of testosterone in men, usually between the ages of 1-4 years).
Complications that can arise due to early puberty
Possible complications of precocious puberty are:
1. Short body
Children with precocious puberty can grow quickly at first and will be higher than their peers. But, because their bones mature faster than normal, they often stop growing. This causes them to be shorter than the average adult.
2. Social and emotional problems
Girls and boys begin puberty long before their peers may be very self-aware of the changes that occur in their bodies. This can affect self-esteem and increase the risk of depression or substance abuse.
It's always difficult to be different from others. Having an adult body earlier than his friends can put a lot of pressure on the child. Both girls and boys must experience difficulties when undergoing changes due to early puberty. Your child may be ridiculed, and may also have body image problems or self-esteem problems. They may also be confused about what happened to their bodies, and may have foreign emotions.
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