What causes precocious puberty?

Precocious puberty has already occupied most of our friends. Generally speaking, it will happen to children. Children will show some obvious precocious characteristics around the age of six or seven. This is inseparable from diet. In fact, the causes of precocious puberty are varied, but the real cause of precocious puberty still depends on the physical characteristics of the children. So what are the causes of precocious puberty?

Disease Introduction

Treatment of precocious puberty Causes of precocious puberty

What causes precocious puberty? The following is an introduction to the causes of precocious puberty:

Excessive light exposure is one of the important reasons for inducing precocious puberty in children, because light can affect the normal functioning of the pineal gland, an endocrine organ in the brain. One of the functions of the pineal gland is to secrete a large amount of melatonin when the human body enters a sleep state at night. This hormone is most secreted from 11 pm to the early morning of the next day, and stops being secreted after dawn when there is light.

The pineal gland has a characteristic that as soon as the eyes see the light source, the secretion of melatonin will be inhibited or stop. If children are exposed to too much light, the secretion of melatonin in the pineal gland will be reduced, causing sleep disorders, which may lead to the premature secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone, thus causing precocious puberty. The incidence of precocious puberty in children is increasing year by year, but less than 10% of them are caused by disease. 90% of children experience precocious puberty due to external factors, among which excessive light stimulation should be taken seriously, especially when children are sleeping at night. Unless there are special circumstances, it is best not to turn on the lights and try to ensure adequate sleep. In addition, you should also avoid prolonged exposure to light from computer screens to prevent premature puberty.

There are many causes of precocious puberty, which can be divided into central (true) and peripheral (false) types, depending on whether the thalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis function is activated prematurely.

(I) Central precocious puberty

Also known as true precocious puberty, it is caused by the premature activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis and the pulse secretion of GnRH. In addition to the development of secondary sexual characteristics, the affected children also have development of ovaries or testicles. The course of sexual development is consistent with the sequence of normal puberty. Just age advances. It mainly includes organic lesions secondary to the central nervous system and idiopathic precocious puberty.

1. Idiopathic precocious puberty

Also known as constitutional precocious puberty, it is caused by the decreased sensitivity of the hypothalamus to the negative feedback of sex hormones, resulting in the premature secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone. It is more common in females, accounting for more than 80% of CPP in girls, while in boys it is only about 40%.

2. Secondary precocious puberty

It is often seen in central nervous system abnormalities, including: ① tumors or space-occupying lesions: hypothalamic hamartoma, cyst, granuloma, ② central nervous system infection, ③ acquired injury: trauma, postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy, ④ developmental abnormalities: hydrocephalus, optic septum dysplasia, etc.

3. Other diseases

Primary hypothyroidism.

(ii) Peripheral precocious puberty

Also known as pseudo-precocious puberty. It is precocious puberty caused by hypothalamus-pituitary and gonadal function. Secondary sexual characteristics develop and sex hormone levels increase, but the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis is immature and there is no gonadal development.

When facing the causes of precocious puberty, we first need to know that precocious puberty is mostly related to children's poor eating habits, which is also called the pituitary gland. Precocious puberty is caused by foods that contain a lot of androgens or estrogens, such as meat, fish, and seafood products. These foods should be avoided.