Etiology and Age Incidence of Precocious Puberty

Paik, Kyung Hoon; Jin, Dong Kyu

Abstract

PURPOSE: Differential diagnosis of sexual precocity is important. Sexual precocity, defined as the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys, was studied to evaluate the sex incidence and etiology of sexual precocity.
METHODS
We reviewed the etiology and age incidence of precocious puberty in 14 boys and 89 girls examined between 1994. 11. 1-2002. 7. 31 at Samsung Seoul Hospital. All underwent standard anthropometric measures. They were assigned to diagnostic categories on the basis of clinical assessment, endocrine evaluation, radiologic imaging, and pelvic ultrasonography.
RESULTS
In 89 girls, 27 had idiopathic precocious puberty, 3 had precocious puberty with organic brain lesion, 12 had gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, 44 had premature thelarche, 2 had premature menarche, 1 had premature adrenarche. The majority of idiopathic precocious puberty girls(78%) were aged between 7-7.9 years. In 14 boys, 2 had idiopathic precocious puberty, 3 had precocious puberty with organic brain lesion, 6 had gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, 3 had gynecomastia.
CONCLUSION
Sexual precocity occurs more frequently in girls than boys. Premature thelarche is the most common form of sexual precosity. In boys, majority of central precocious puberty had organic brain lesion, so brain imaging study should be performed. In girls, majority of idiopathic precocious puberty were aged between 7-7.9 years. Reexamination of the age limit for defining when puberty should be considered precocious in Korean girls is necessary.