What are the effects of precocious puberty in girls?

Written by Gan Jun
Endocrinology
Updated on March 17, 2025
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Premature sexual development in girls can have significant impacts on their future, with one of the most common issues being effects on height. Premature sexual development can cause bone age to advance much earlier than in peers, which can lead to premature closure of the growth plates and result in a shorter stature. Additionally, it can have profound impacts on the individual's psychological and emotional well-being, leading to issues such as low self-esteem and anxiety. Premature sexual development can also cause early breast development and early menstruation, which may lead to premature romantic relationships and other early maturation behaviors. Therefore, it has a substantial effect on both the physical and mental development of girls. For such patients, it is crucial to detect, diagnose, and treat the condition early.

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Written by Huang Kun Mei
Pediatrics
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Should people with precocious puberty eat fewer eggs?

Children with precocious puberty can normally eat eggs, but they should avoid eating fried foods, including chicken. It is also important to determine the cause of the child's precocious puberty, such as whether there is a hormone abnormality, for example, high levels of sex hormones, or if the child exhibits breast development, enlarged testicles, or premature growth of underarm and pubic hair, etc. It is necessary to check the child's sex hormones and growth hormones in a timely manner, including checking their bone age. If it is confirmed that the child indeed has precocious puberty, timely and targeted intervention treatments should be provided.

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Written by Dong Xian Yan
Pediatrics
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What symptoms will appear in the pituitary gland with precocious puberty?

Children with precocious puberty should undergo a pituitary gland examination, which may reveal symptoms in two aspects: 1. Imaging examination such as pituitary MRI, which might uncover tumors in the pituitary gland that could lead to precocious puberty. 2. Hormone level tests, mainly involving the secretion of hormones controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. For example, the secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone can cause precocious puberty. Precocious puberty is a relatively common endocrine disorder in children. Generally, it can be diagnosed in girls before the age of eight and in boys before the age of nine if secondary sexual characteristics appear.

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Written by Quan Xiang Mei
Pediatrics
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Premature breast pain has now stopped hurting, does that mean it's healed?

When girls develop breasts before the age of eight, they may experience pain at the breast bud nodules. Pain does not necessarily mean recovery; it is possible that as the breast bud enlarges, the pain will naturally disappear. Whether treatment is needed once precocious puberty occurs and whether it has reached a level of cure mainly depends on the assessment through pediatric bone age, gonadal ultrasound examinations, or a combination of brain pituitary MRI and blood hormone levels to analyze the severity of the condition. For mild cases, with appropriate medication, diet, and exercise guidance, children can reach a basic level of clinical cure. Severe cases require the control of the child's sexual development through the injection of gonadal hormones or hormone-releasing analogues. Psychological impacts due to early sexual development may also necessitate behavioral and psychological interventions.

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Written by Quan Xiang Mei
Pediatrics
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Can precocious puberty be inherited by children?

Precocious puberty may have a hereditary factor, but it is not very typical. This means that if the parents experienced early puberty or development, their children might also potentially display early signs of puberty or development, but it is not a certainty. Children with precocious puberty typically refer to those who undergo sexual development too early, which can affect their height or their sexual development. This usually impacts their adult height. If parents show signs of early puberty or development, we need to closely monitor the sexual development of their children, observing the development of the nipples in girls and the development of the testicles and penis in boys.

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Written by Dong Xian Yan
Pediatrics
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The difference between precocious puberty and early development

It is generally believed that the development of breasts before the age of eight in girls, and the onset of menstruation before the age of ten; in boys, the development of testicles before the age of nine, appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, and accompanied by rapid physical development, are referred to as precocious puberty. Early development refers to the situation where, before puberty, not only the sexual organs but also other organs in boys and girls begin to develop simultaneously. Therefore, precocious puberty and early development not only differ in the age of onset but also focus more on whether the sexual organs are developing in coordination with the body's other organs. The differences lie not only in the timing but primarily in whether the development of the sexual organs is coordinated with the development of the body's other organs. If the sexual organs and the body's other organs are not developing in coordination, it indicates precocious puberty. If they are coordinated, and merely occurring earlier than usual in puberty, it is considered early development.