Problems in Puberty

Puberty is the time in a person's life when his or her body changes from child to adult, accompanied by the process of sexual maturation. Puberty is caused by changes in hormones and includes both physical and emotional growth.

Problems with puberty require the clinical care of a physician or other health care professional.

Listed in the directory below are some problems associated with puberty, for which we have provided a brief overview.

1. Precocious Puberty

• What Is Precocious Puberty?

Puberty that happens early is called precocious puberty. This means a child's physical signs of sexual maturity develop too soon. This includes breast growth, pubic hair, and voice changes. These are known as secondary sexual characteristics. Precocious puberty happens before age 8 in girls, and before age 9 in boys. Most children with the disorder grow fast at first. But they also stop growing before reaching their full genetic height potential.

• What Causes Precocious Puberty?

It may be caused by tumors or growths on the ovaries, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, or brain. Other causes may include central nervous system problems, family history of the disease, or certain rare genetic syndromes. In many cases, no cause can be found for the disorder. There are two types of precocious puberty:

• Gonadotropin-dependent. This is also known as central precocious puberty. This is the most common type of precocious puberty. Most girls and half of boys with precocious puberty have this type. The puberty is started by early secretion of hormones called gonadotropins. Gonadotropins include luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulation hormone (FSH). In girls, precocious puberty may be caused by the early maturity of the hypothalamus, pituitary glands, and ovaries. But in most cases, no cause can be found.

• Gonadotropin-independent. This is a form of precocious puberty that is not started by the early release of gonadotropins. Instead it’s caused by early secretion of high levels of sex hormones. These include the male androgens and female estrogens.

2. Delayed Puberty

• What Is Delayed Puberty?

Puberty that happens late is called delayed puberty. This means a child's physical signs of sexual maturity don’t appear by age 12 in girls or age 14 in boys. This includes breast or testicle growth, pubic hair, and voice changes. These are known as secondary sexual characteristics.

• What Causes Delayed Puberty?

Delayed puberty most often has no known cause. In some cases, it may run in families. In other cases, it may be caused by any of these:

• Chromosomal problems

• Genetic disorder

• Chronic illness

• Tumors of the pituitary gland or hypothalamus

• Underactive pituitary gland (hypopituitarism)

• Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)

• Abnormal development of the reproductive system

• Inability of the body to use androgen hormones (complete androgen insensitivity syndrome)

• Too much exercise

• Severe lack of eating (anorexia)