Onset of Puberty: Younger Still

[Guest guest]

very troubling, in my opinion:

Onset of Puberty: Younger Still

At age 7 years, 10% of white girls, 23% of black girls, and 15% of Hispanic girls had evidence of breast development.

Investigators examined age of puberty onset in a U.S. longitudinal study of 1239 racially and ethnically diverse girls aged 6 to 8 years at enrollment at 3 study sites (New York City, Cincinnati, and San Francisco). The investigators developed a standardized protocol for pubertal staging based on the Tanner criteria for breast development.

Trained researchers were instructed to inspect and palpate for the presence of breast tissue. Overall, 10.4% of whites, 23.4% of blacks, and 14.9% of Hispanics showed evidence of breast development (Tanner stage 2) at age 7 years. Only 1 of 45 Asian girls had breast development. In logistic regression analysis, breast development was significantly associated with higher body-mass index percentile, older age, black race, and being from study sites in New York City or Cincinnati. Comment: The prevalence of breast development at age 7 in white girls is higher in this study than in similar studies of girls who were born 10 to 30 years ago. Earlier onset of breast development also was reported in Danish girls who were assessed in 2006 versus those assessed in 1991 (mean, 9.9 vs. 10.9 years). The variation in age of onset of breast development among girls from different geographical sites as well as among those studied during different time intervals suggests that environmental factors might be partly responsible. Early maturing girls tend to be more likely to engage in risky behaviors; hence these girls (and their families) need additional support to help them achieve healthy psychosocial development. — Alain Joffe, MD, MPH, FAAP Published in Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine September 8, 2010 Citation(s): Biro FM et al. Pubertal assessment method and baseline characteristics in a mixed longitudinal study of girls. Pediatrics 2010 Sep; 126:e583. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-3079) Original article (Subscription may be required) Medline abstract (Free) Gail