What is precocious puberty

In recent years, the term "precocious puberty in children" has been increasingly exposed in major media, and many parents are also familiar with it. Precocious puberty not only affects people physically, but more importantly, it causes unnecessary pressure and burden on many people psychologically. What’s worse, some people develop depression and even behave and do not treat their bodies properly. These issues are increasingly becoming the focus of attention of the whole society.

Regarding the issue of precocious puberty in children, some people believe that it is caused by environmental pollution, some believe that it is caused by excessive additives and chemical substances in food, and others believe that it is caused by the accelerated pace of life and increased radiation. In fact, there are many reasons for children's precocious puberty, and its harms are also many.

The prevalence of precocious puberty in children is second only to childhood obesity, ranking second among pediatric endocrine diseases. It has become one of the most common pediatric endocrine diseases. Precocious puberty in children refers to the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before puberty, which is premature and disproportionate to age, and promotes physical development. The diagnosis is based on breast development in girls before the age of 8 and menarche before the age of 10; and secondary sexual characteristics in boys before the age of 9, accompanied by rapid physical development, which is called precocious puberty. 75% to 90% of precocious puberty in women is idiopathic, and more than 80% of precocious puberty in men is caused by intracranial space-occupying lesions. Precocious puberty is divided into two categories: central precocious puberty (true precocious puberty) and peripheral precocious puberty (pseudo-precocious puberty). In addition, there is an incomplete precocious puberty, including simple breast precocity and simple pubic hair precocity, which can be transformed into central precocious puberty.

There are many dangers of precocious puberty in children, and for the children themselves, the main four aspects are the following: it is very easy to cause psychological barriers to the children, distract them, affect their study, affect their height, causing them to be shorter than their peers, and cause systemic endocrine disorders in children.

The manifestation of precocious puberty is the result of an abnormal increase in sex hormones in the body, which act on related organs or tissues before puberty. When girls experience precocious puberty, the first symptoms are often enlargement and swelling of the breasts, darkening of the areola, and the appearance of small hard lumps under the breasts that are painful to touch. Generally, both breasts develop and enlarge at the same time. In some cases, only one side enlarges at first and then develops to the other side. The labia minora and vaginal mucosa are thickened and pigmented, long dark hair grows in the armpits, the labia majora are pigmented, and light black pubic hair sprouts in the pubic area. Vaginal secretions increase, and excessive leucorrhea may wet the underwear. Some girls also experience genital itching. There may even be secretion and vaginal bleeding, which usually begins as irregular vaginal bleeding and gradually transitions to menstruation. The skin becomes delicate, subcutaneous fat increases, especially in the shoulders, chest and buttocks, and the pelvis widens, showing girlish curves. Boys will experience enlarged testicles, loose scrotum, darker pigmentation, longer and thicker penis, erection, and even ejaculation. The front of the neck bulges, a Adam's apple appears, the voice changes, the tone becomes coarser, and the voice becomes deeper. A thin light-colored beard grows on the lips, and long light black hair grows on the armpits and pubic area. The shoulders are broad, muscular, and appear strong. In addition to the development of secondary sexual characteristics, children with precocious puberty show accelerated growth rate and earlier physical growth. Their initial height is often taller than children of the same age, but due to early epiphyseal fusion, their final height is lower than normal.

The problem of precocious puberty in children is not only a problem in China, but also a concern internationally. Although precocious puberty is not particularly harmful to health, as people continue to discuss this issue, the psychological impact on people is far greater than the physical impact. Therefore, this problem must be discovered and treated in a timely manner.