In a minority of children with precocious puberty, the early development is triggered by a disease such as a tumor or injury of the brain.
[1] Even when there is no underlying disease, unusually early puberty can have adverse effects on social behavior and psychological development (having more mature knowledge than one's peers, feeling inadequate, trying to attend and establish friendships with older people, depression).
Central precocious puberty can be treated by suppressing the pituitary hormones that induce sex steroid production.
[7] Precocious puberty is associated with advancement in bone age, which leads to early fusion of epiphyses, thus resulting in reduced final height and short stature.
Causes can include: Generally, patients with precocious puberty develop phenotypically appropriate secondary sexual characteristics.
As an example, children with a very rare genetic condition called aromatase excess syndrome – in which exceptionally high circulating levels of estrogen are present – usually develop precocious puberty.
[16] The "opposite" case would be the hyper-masculinisation of both male and female patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency, in which there is an excess of androgens.
"[19] In addition to diet and exercise habits, exposure to chemicals that mimic estrogen (known as xenoestrogens) is another possible cause of early puberty in girls.
[20] "Factors other than obesity, however, perhaps genetic and/or environmental ones, are needed to explain the higher prevalence of early puberty in black versus white girls.
[21][22] "Increasing rates of obese and overweight children in the United States may be contributing to a later onset of puberty in boys, say researchers at the University of Michigan Health System.
"[22] High levels of beta-hCG in serum and cerebrospinal fluid observed in a 9-year-old boy suggest a pineal gland tumor.
It is located on human chromosome 15 on the long arm in the Prader-Willi syndrome critical region2, and has since been identified as a cause of premature sexual development or CPP.
[32] The identification of mutations in MKRN3 leading to sporadic cases of CPP has been a significant contribution to better understanding the mechanism of puberty.
Thus, loss of function mutations of the protein allow early activation of the GnRH pathway and cause phenotypic CPP.
Patients with a MKRN3 mutation all display the classic signs of CCP including early breast and testes development, increased bone aging and elevated hormone levels of GnRH and LH.
The most common side effects reported include nonspecific headaches, hot flashes, and implant-related skin reactions.
[55] Early puberty is posited to put girls at higher risk of sexual abuse;[19][40] however, a causal relationship is, as yet, inconclusive.
[40] Early puberty also puts girls at a higher risk for teasing or bullying, mental health disorders and short stature as adults.
[19][39][56] Girls as young as 8 are increasingly starting to menstruate, develop breasts and grow pubic and underarm hair; these "biological milestones" typically occurred only at 13 or older in the past.