Hitting puberty prematurely can be traumatic; understanding it helps

Dr. Sandeep Chaddha

Puberty involves rapid development of bones and muscles, changes in body shape and size, and attainment of reproductive ability. When a girl hits that stage before the age of eight and a boy before nine, it's called early puberty. Conditions such as infections, hormone disorders, tumors, neurological abnormalities or injuries may lead to early puberty.

What induces early puberty 

Your gender: Girls are much more likely to hit early puberty.

Being obese: Children who are significantly overweight have a higher risk of developing early puberty.

Other medical conditions: Early puberty can be a congenital adrenal hyperplasia — conditions that involve abnormal production of the male hormones (androgens). In rare cases, this kind of puberty may also be associated with hypothyroidism.

Radiation therapy for central nervous system: Radiation treatment for tumors, leukemia, or other conditions may increase the risk of puberty.

Consequences of Early Puberty

Early puberty can affect both physically and emotionally. The most common consequences are:

Higher rates of anxiety and depression

Children hitting puberty early have higher level of anxiety and depression compared to the kids who attained puberty at right age. The effect is more pronounced in girls than boys.

Drug abuse

They are more prone to drug or substance abuse.

Early sexual activity

It increases the risk of a child becoming sexually active at a younger age, and hence the risk of teen pregnancy increases.

Lower body image and self esteem 

Girls who experience early puberty are more likely to suffer from poor body image and lower self-esteem than those who reach on time. However, this will not affect the boys.

Weak in academics

Girls who hit puberty early perform poorer in academics than their peers. Interestingly, the same does not hold true for boys. 

Short height

Children with early puberty may grow quickly initially as compared to their peers. But as their bones mature more quickly, they stop growing after a point of time. As a result, they grow into adults with shorter than average height. Early treatment, especially when it occurs in very young children, can help them grow taller than they would without treatment.

Other Risks

Some research findings say there is an association between precocious puberty and increased risk of breast cancer in later life.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of puberty:

1. Breast growth and first period in girls

2. Enlarged testicles and penis, facial hair and deepening voice in boys

3. Pubic or underarm hair

4. Rapid growth

5. Acne

6. Adult body odour

Prevention

Some of the risk factors for early puberty, such as sex and race, can't be avoided. But there are things you can do to reduce your child's chances of developing early puberty.

• Keeping your child away from external sources of estrogen and testosterone — such as prescription medications for adults in the house or dietary supplements containing estrogen or testosterone
• Encouraging your child to maintain a healthy weight

Treatment for Early Puberty

For precocious puberty, medications known as GnRH (or LHRH) analogs are the standard treatments. They block the hormones flowing from pituitary glands, which trigger puberty. The medications are given in the form of injections or implants.

Injections: These are monthly dosages injected into muscles or daily dosages injected underneath the skin.

Implants: These are small tubes which are placed beneath the skin in the upper arm. They slowly release the medicine into the system.

—The writer is a gynaecologist, Motherhood Hospital, Noida