If you ask the first woman in your class to get boobs (*raises hand*), she’ll probably tell you that it doesn’t rank among her favorite life experiences. Precocious puberty, or the onset of puberty before age 8 for girls and age 9 for boys, is not a common condition, but it can be difficult for those who experience it. German researchers recently sought to understand: how difficult. The study was published in JAMA Network.
Researchers led by Lars Dinkelbach of Essen University Hospital in Germany wanted to know whether patients who experience idiopathic central precocious puberty (CPP) are at increased risk of developing mental illness. Using more than 10 years of health insurance data, they were able to assess the association between CPP and the development of mental illness in about 1,100 patients, more than 91% of whom were girls, and compared them to about 5,500 patients with normal adolescence.
Researchers found that compared to controls, children with CPP had a nearly 50% increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety disorders, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)/conduct disorder (CD), ADHD, self-harm, and substance disorders. One in four patients with CPP developed a psychiatric disorder during the observation period. Additionally, we found that the incidence of ODD/CD was increased even before the onset of CPP. Rates of depression and ADHD remained elevated for at least 8 years after diagnosis of CPP.
Fortunately, largely None of the children studied in both the control and CPP groups had any psychiatric disorders. The diagnosis rate for patients with CPP was just under 25%, compared with just under 17% for patients without CPP.
The study doesn’t say exactly why this happens, but it suggests that there may be a number or combination of factors. “Physical and social changes caused by early adolescence, coupled with age-related limitations in coping skills, may combine to cause psychological distress,” the researchers suggest.
CPP bullying can exacerbate this problem. It may also be related to endocrine changes associated with CPP.
“Parents of children with CPP should be alert to the emergence of psychiatric symptoms in order to initiate psychiatric treatment early,” the study concluded.
The researchers also noted that children and adolescents with behavioral or emotional problems are often underdiagnosed and undertreated, but early intervention can make important positive changes and reduce the burden of disease and long-term negative psychosocial consequences, such as poor academic performance and early death.
