Precocious puberty

Find out why Mayo Clinic is the right place for your health care. Make an appointment..

Find a directory of doctors and departments at all Mayo Clinic campuses. Visit now..

See how Mayo Clinic research and clinical trials advance the science of medicine and improve patient care. Explore now..

Educators at Mayo Clinic train tomorrow’s leaders to deliver compassionate, high-value, safe patient care. Choose a degree..

Explore Mayo Clinic’s many resources and see jobs available for medical professionals. Get updates..

Your support accelerates powerful innovations in patient care, research and education. Give today..

Precocious puberty is when a child’s body begins changing into that of an adult (puberty) too soon. Puberty that begins before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys is considered precocious puberty.

Puberty includes rapid growth of bones and muscles, changes in body shape and size, and development of the body’s ability to reproduce.

The cause of precocious puberty often can’t be found. Rarely, certain conditions, such as infections, hormone disorders, tumors, brain abnormalities or injuries, may cause precocious puberty. Treatment for precocious puberty typically includes medication to delay further development.

Precocious puberty signs and symptoms include development of the following before age 8 in girls and before age 9 in boys.

Make an appointment with your child’s doctor for an evaluation if your child has any of the signs or symptoms of precocious puberty.

To understand what causes precocious puberty in some children, it’s helpful to know what causes puberty to begin. This process involves the following steps:

Why this process begins early in some children depends on whether they have central precocious puberty or peripheral precocious puberty.

Central precocious puberty

There’s usually no identifiable cause for this type of precocious puberty.

In central precocious puberty, the puberty process starts too soon. The pattern and timing of the steps in the process are otherwise normal. For the majority of children with this condition, there’s no underlying medical problem and no identifiable reason for the early puberty.

In rare cases, the following may cause central precocious puberty:

Estrogen or testosterone in your child’s body causes this type of precocious puberty.

The less common peripheral precocious puberty occurs without the involvement of the hormone in your brain (Gn-RH) that normally triggers the start of puberty. Instead, the cause is release of estrogen or testosterone into the body because of problems with the ovaries, testicles, adrenal glands or pituitary gland.

In both girls and boys, the following may lead to peripheral precocious puberty:

In girls, peripheral precocious puberty may also be associated with:

In boys, peripheral precocious puberty may also be caused by:

Factors that increase a child’s risk of precocious puberty include: 

Possible complications of precocious puberty include:

Some of the risk factors for precocious 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 precocious puberty, including:

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.

Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic.

Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.

A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. “Mayo,” “Mayo Clinic,” “MayoClinic.org,” “Mayo Clinic Healthy Living,” and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

Precocious puberty

Research & References of Precocious puberty|A&C Accounting And Tax Services
Source

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us