Vitamin D Helps Delay Precocious Puberty in Girls

Proper intake of vitamin D may help delay early puberty in girls, a latest study has revealed.

Study conducted by South Korean researchers said girls who hit puberty early lacked adequate vitamin D. In girls puberty begins between 10 and 14 years of age compared to 12 and 16 average puberty age in boys. Some girls attain puberty before they turn eight. Previous studies show that precocious puberty negatively affects social behavior, psychological development and can reduce adult height potential and cause lifelong health issues. Lack of adequate vitamin D also results in cancer, obesity and autoimmune disease. 

For the study, nearly 110 girls aged between seven and 10 years participated. According to the researchers, 75 girls displayed normal patterns of development while 35 girls had precocious puberty.

The researchers found that girls with precocious puberty were twice more likely than girls with normal development to have a severe vitamin D deficiency. They also found that 44 percent of girls in the precocious puberty group had severe vitamin D deficiency compared to 21 percent of the girls from the normal development group.

The researchers studied how neurons responsible for the discharge of a hormone that generates the ovulation process behaves. Using the neuron-stimulating compound called N-methyl-D-aspartate, or NMDA, to activate the neurons responsible for releasing gondadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, researchers found that vitamin D was associated with the suppression of the NMDA-mediated neuronal activities on GnRH neurons.

"If we understand more about the action mechanism of vitamin D on GnRH neuronal activities, we can find a clue to control of precocious puberty using vitamin D or related molecules," study lead author Min Sun Kim, MD, PhD, assistant professor at Chonbuk National University Medical School in Jeonju, South Korea, said in a news release.

"Our results suggest that vitamin D may inhibit early pubertal onset and/or the rapid progression of puberty, at least in part, through the suppression of NMDA-mediated GnRH neuronal excitation in humans," she explained.