Early Puberty becomes Normal trend!

August 10th 2010

Exertive physical activities, moisturizers, shampoos and many pollutants in the air are studied thoroughly for being the possible causes of early menstruation in girls.

The median age is coming close to 9 years. This is when the breast development and the pubic hair signify the arrival of menstrual cycle. Many mothers are concerned if this is normal. Weight is one reason that is seen as a common element in most of the girls that are having early menstruation. It is therefore closely linked with the food intake and the type of food consumed by young girls.

Lindsay Kendrick is a physically active girl who participates in sports and is attending the summer camp like other girls 10 years old. Growing number of girls now face early puberty at this age. She informed her mother about her menstruation when she was only 9. Her mother obviously wasn’t keeping an eye for it, for the young girl as this was not common in earlier times.

"I thought it was going to happen early," said Beth. "She's been one of the tallest in her class, even taller than a lot of boys, and she started having early breast development."

Beth Kendrick consulted her pediatrician for Lindsay, Beth was told that it is rather common these days, and that her periods will start next year.

"She started about two months after that," Beth said.

Lindsay is shy talking to her friends about it and it seems that the frequency of early puberty is not as common as claimed.

"She doesn't like talking to any of her friends about it," Beth said. "I try to keep up with her to make sure I send products with her to school."

A recent study will establish new ground breaking reality about the reasons and circumstances surrounding early menstruation.

Study revealed that more than 1,200 girls aging between 6-8 years in three metro cities had experienced breast development and pubic hair, a clear indication of early puberty. Scientist revealed that studying such methods might lead them to reach conclusion for the possible reasons surrounding early puberty.

Senior Health and Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser, explains the real merit of the research.

"I don't think from this study we can say the age is going down in the world at large," said Mary Wolff, who is a professor of community and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "This study was not designed to look at if puberty was happening early or not."

"It's going to take a lot of follow-up to say whether this is really puberty," said Dr. Abby Hollander, associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Within five years, we should be able to say whether the average girls get their periods is earlier."

But medical experts are collectively agreeing that puberty is starting early as compared to usual or previous median age of 10-14 years old as was established by National Institutes of Health.

"Ten percent of white girls at age 7 have breast development to some extreme, which is way younger than our original standard of evaluating normal versus abnormal," said Dr. Ann Budzak, a pediatrician with Gundersen Lutheran Health System in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

It was first discovered in a research initiated in April 97 that the average age of breast development and pubic hair was 9.7 years old for Caucasian and 8.1 for Afro-American girls.

"This study adds to the literature in terms of looking at whether puberty is happening early so we can figure out what's causing it," said Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, professor of clinical pediatrics at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

These studies though have not implicated any specific reason or causes of these early cycles. Some experts believe and few studies prescribe that exposure to estrogens and other organic pollutants in the environment could be triggering puberty at early stage.

There are hypotheses that bisphenol A, or BPA in the environment could be triggering early puberty. Other environmental toxins which are believed to have an impact on pubertal age are parabens — preservatives found in shampoos and other cosmetic products — and phyoestrogens found in plants.

"None of these possible triggers have been studied adequately," said Budzak.

The authors of the current study concur. They wrote "Variations in the timing of pubertal maturation may be sensitive 'sensors' of the effects of environmental exposure in human populations," and are in fact in the first year of a study looking whether environmental factors cause early puberty.

Obesity for one is known to activate menstrual cycles at early stages, thus in a way puberty is considered to be a reason of obsessive eating and diet intake.

"If puberty happens earlier because girls are heavier, and gaining that weight is sending hormonal signals to start puberty earlier, is that really normal, or a sign of obesity, which is abnormal?" said Hollander.

There are beyond medical social implication that can lead to early puberty as well. A stressful family life or tension among the parents can also start puberty at an early stage. Likewise endocrine disorders such as Turner's syndrome, thyroid disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome and others, another angle of concern is tumor that can expedite the puberty process or a brain injury or infection can lead to early puberty signals.

"These are the types of things to screen for when a little girl seems to be showing signs of early puberty," said Budzak.

Experts though have varying views and anticipations regarding the outcome of studies conducted to find a link between stress-related symptoms.

Budzak says that a new definition of normal has to be reconsidered in order to define puberty in modern times, in today’s day and age. "If a girl is in this new range of normal, the child doesn't need to go through all the tests to evaluate something that is no longer abnormal," she said.

The Risks of Early Puberty

One point where all experts unite is to study early puberty as it might be related to some health concerns and developmental issues in future.

"Epidemiological studies have shown that women with breast cancer have a younger age of menarche [the start of menstruation]," said Alderman.

"Other studies have linked early puberty to mental health issues and emotional issues," said Budzak. "They may enter into social relationships with older peers that may not be appropriate for girls their age."

Parents too can be hit hard by early puberty appearance. Beth Kendrick attests:

"I was more upset than she was," said Kendrick. "She grew up so fast, and I'm also worried about all that responsibility for a girl her age."