Premature or early puberty, especially in girls, with onset of less than 8 years of age in girls and less than 9 years of age in boys ”is a phenomenon that has been observed for a decade. in our country, but from the first available data, which, however, cannot be considered definitive, the peak seems to be falling ”. This was explained by Adnkronos Salute Carla Bizzarri, a pediatric endocrinologist at Bambino Gesù di Roma, who follows an observational study led by Marco Cappa, whose first results, published in 2021, highlighted a doubling of cases in the March-September 2020 semester.
“With the end of the epidemic,” Bizzarri continues, “this phenomenon also seems to be diminishing, but we are talking about completely preliminary data that we are now assessing.” According to the researchers, in the first phase of the pandemic, “stress, isolation, school closures, sudden lifestyle changes, an increase in sedentary lifestyle and body weight contributed to determining the increase in the incidence of the disease. The pandemic and the peak incidence could be additionally confirmed, Bizzarri continues, if the data we process show that when girls resume normal life (learning, physical activity, etc.), this phenomenon is weakened. ‘
The trend of lowering adolescence recorded in the last decade “has been linked to various factors in many studies. The most numerous works concern the epidemic of overweight and obesity. ” This state of premature development means “failure essentially on two fronts. First: accelerating bone growth leads to early growth, but also to welding of growth plates early, essentially a short adult. psychological aspect: development much earlier than in peers may cause psychological discomfort in a boy or a girl ”. Problems that can occur “in the short and long term”. Regarding the possible premature onset of menopause in those who predicted puberty, the expert denies: “there have been studies in the past in this direction, but these are never confirmed data.” concludes Bizzarri.
