Children Hitting Puberty Early Display Poor Mental Health at Age 4

The warning signs of early puberty start appearing from a very young age. Researchers from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute analyzed this point and found that children who hit puberty by age 8 or 9 display many behavioral, emotional and social difficulties from their preschool age onward.

The landmark sign of puberty in girls is menarche or the first menstrual bleeding, and for boys it is the first ejaculation. Menarche normally starts after a girl turns 11 years old and for boys, the process of puberty begins at age 12 or 13.

But, according to recent studies, girls and boys are entering puberty at an early age compared to earlier generations. Many factors influence the natural onset of puberty and according to Mayo Clinic, children who are obese, who have come in direct contact with any product or substance containing the hormones estrogen or testosterone, having any medical conditions like Albright syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia or hypothyroidism, are at an increased risk of experiencing puberty early (also known as precocious puberty) compared to others.

Nearly 3,500 Australian children aged 4 participated in the study. Researchers followed the children until age 11. Parents provided the required information at four different stages of the children's growth.  Researchers found that children who hit puberty early had started experiencing many difficulties related to behavior, emotional and social adjustment as early as 4 years of age. Behavioral difficulties troubled boys more than girls.  

"There is a heightened risk for behaviour and emotional problems during puberty; and children who reach puberty earlier than their peers have more of these difficulties in adolescence," lead researcher Dr. Fiona Mensah said in a news release. "We think that the association between early onset puberty and poorer adolescent mental health is due to developmental processes that start well before the onset of puberty and continue into adolescence."

Findings of the study have been reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

An early puberty can have many severe side-effects, including stunting the children's growth early and making them shorter adults compared to others. Apart from that, it can even have a negative impact on the children's self-esteem, thus paving the way for depression or substance abuse.

An early menarche brings in many health problems for women. It increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction and cancer later in life.