In addition to the increased number of girls entering puberty early amid the pandemic, the age of precocious puberty has also decreased by almost a year
An increased number of girls have entered puberty early during Covid-19 compared to before the pandemic, German scientists have reported. Some studies show that in the midst of a pandemic, girls experiencing early sexual development and entering puberty early have more than doubled for reasons that are not clear, but possibly related to increased pandemic stress.
The University of Bonn researchers, who made the announcement at a conference of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology, according to New Scientist, reported that the number of girls with precocious puberty was stable between 2015-2019, but more than doubled in 2020 and increased further. in 2021. A similar trend has been recorded by scientists in other countries, such as the USA, Italy and Turkey.
Precocious puberty is considered rare, occurring pre-pandemic in one child in 5,000 to 10,000. It is much more common—for reasons that are unclear—in girls than boys, by a ratio of 10 to 1. Regardless of gender, early puberty is associated with shorter height and an increased chance of various health problems later in life, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, anxiety (mostly in boys) and depression (in girls).
In addition to the increased number of girls entering puberty early amid the pandemic, there was also a decrease in the age of precocious puberty by almost a year. To be investigated are the factors that may have played a role for something like this, e.g. the increased time spent on television and distance learning, the disruption of the sleep cycle, etc. Some scientists wonder whether the coronavirus itself could be to blame for the more frequent precocious puberty, which is not considered very likely.
Regardless of the pandemic, however, the age at which puberty begins has tended to decline over time, by about three months per decade since 1977. Some experts hope that a return to school and other extracurricular activities will slow the rate of growth. precocious puberty.
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