Enrico C
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Pediatrics News
Early Puberty In Girls Due to Being Overweight As A Toddler
Article Date: 05 Mar 2007 - 4:00 PST
US scientists have shown that being overweight as a toddler
increases the chance that a girl will reach puberty early.
The study from the University of Michigan's Mott Children's
Hospital is published in the journal Pediatrics.
Dr Joyce Lee, the lead author, and colleagues used the data on
354 girls from age 3 who were enrolled in the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study
of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD).
SECCYD is a national programme run by the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) where qualified researchers are permitted
access to datasets if they fulfill the NICHD criteria.
The SECCYD data set offered the researchers the opportunity to
look at longitudinal data on the girls at age 3 and 4.5, and
then at school grades 1, 4, 5 and 6.
They looked at height and weight at each measurement stage,
and from grades 4 to 6 they also looked at pubertal stage
measurements (these were based on physical examination reports
and reports completed by the girls' mothers). They also took
into account other factors such as race, the mother's
education and the mother's age when she started menstruating.
The girls' pubertal stage was assessed according to stage of
breast development and start of the menstrual cycle.
Breast development was measured using Tanner Stages, a way of
assessing physical development in children. For girls'
breasts Tanner Stage 1 is prepubertal and has no glandular
tissue and Stage 2 is where the breast buds are forming.
There are five Tanner stages altogether, with fully formed
adult breasts at Stage 5.
Dr Lee and her team used statistical logistic regression to
predict early versus late puberty from Body Mass Index (BMI)
which combines weight and height.
Of the 354 girls, 168 of them (48 per cent) were classed as
being "in puberty" by the age of 9, with 6.5 per cent having
started their menstrual cycle by age 11.
The results showed that an earlier onset of puberty was
positively and consistently linked to rate of change of BMI
between age 3 and grade 1, an earlier age of the mother's own
start of menstruation, and being non-white.
The researchers said that before this study, all we knew was
that higher BMI was linked to earlier onset of puberty but not
which caused the other. Now this study shows it is highly
likely that high BMI causes early puberty.
Other studies have shown that children are more obese than
they were 30 years ago, and also that puberty in girls
starts earlier than 30 years ago. Dr Lee and colleagues
said their study offers strong evidence that being
overweight in pre-puberty is what causes the early onset of
puberty in girls.
Early onset of puberty in girls is a serious health issue
because it is linked to increased mental problems, early abuse
of alcohol, early sexual encounters and teenage pregnancy. It
is also linked to increased obesity as a grown up and
reproductive cancers, said the researchers.
"Weight Status in Young Girls and the Onset of Puberty."
Joyce M. Lee, Danielle Appugliese, Niko Kaciroti, Robert F.
Corwyn, Robert
H. Bradley, and Julie C. Lumeng Pediatrics Vol. 119 No. 3
March 2007, pp. E624-E630 doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2188
Click here for Abstract.
Click here for the US NICHD Study of Early Child Care and
Youth Development (SECCYD).
Written by: Catharine Paddock Writer: Medical News Today
===
ABSTRACT
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/-
119/3/E624
PEDIATRICS Vol. 119 No. 3 March 2007, pp. E624-E630
(doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2188)
Weight Status in Young Girls and the Onset of Puberty Joyce M.
Lee, MD, MPHa,b, Danielle Appugliese, MPHc, Niko Kaciroti,
PhDd, Robert F. Corwyn, PhDe, Robert H. Bradley, PhDe and
Julie C. Lumeng, MDd,f
a Pediatric Endocrinology b Child Health Evaluation and
Research Unit f Child Behavioral Health, Department of
Pediatrics d Center for Human Growth and Development,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan c Data
Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public
Health, Boston, Massachusetts e Center for Applied Studies in
Education, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas
OBJECTIVE. We sought to examine the association between weight
status in early childhood and onset of puberty.
PATIENTS AND METHODS. The study included 354 girls from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study
of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Girls were followed
longitudinally with height and weight measurements at 36 and
54 months and grades 1, 4, 5, and 6 and with assessment of
pubertal stage by physical examination and maternal report in
grades 4 through 6. The main outcome was the presence of early
puberty, indexed as follows: (a) breast development at or more
than Tanner stage 2 by physical examination at grade 4; (b)
breast development at or more than Tanner stage 3 by physical
examination at grade 5; (c) maternal report of breast
development at or more than Tanner stage 3 at grade 5; and (d)
maternal report of menarche having already occurred (yes
versus no) at grade 6. Multiple logistic regression models
predicting early versus late puberty were constructed by using
the covariate BMI z score at 36 months, rate of change of BMI
and accelerated BMI between 36 months and grade 1, race,
maternal education, and maternal age of menarche.
RESULTS. BMI z score at 36 months, rate of change of BMI
between 36 months and grade 1, an earlier age of maternal
menarche, and nonwhite race were each consistently and
positively associated with an earlier onset of puberty across
the various measures of puberty.
CONCLUSIONS. Higher BMI z score in girls as young as 36 months
of age and higher rate of change of BMI between 36 months old
and grade 1, a period well before the onset of puberty, are
associated with earlier puberty, which suggests that
increasing rates of obesity in the United States may result in
an earlier average age of onset of puberty for US girls.
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
Key Words: puberty • obesity • child • body weight •
sexual maturation
Abbreviations: ITN—income-to-needs
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
Accepted Sep 15, 2006.
Pediatrics News
Early Puberty In Girls Due to Being Overweight As A Toddler
Article Date: 05 Mar 2007 - 4:00 PST
US scientists have shown that being overweight as a toddler
increases the chance that a girl will reach puberty early.
The study from the University of Michigan's Mott Children's
Hospital is published in the journal Pediatrics.
Dr Joyce Lee, the lead author, and colleagues used the data on
354 girls from age 3 who were enrolled in the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study
of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD).
SECCYD is a national programme run by the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) where qualified researchers are permitted
access to datasets if they fulfill the NICHD criteria.
The SECCYD data set offered the researchers the opportunity to
look at longitudinal data on the girls at age 3 and 4.5, and
then at school grades 1, 4, 5 and 6.
They looked at height and weight at each measurement stage,
and from grades 4 to 6 they also looked at pubertal stage
measurements (these were based on physical examination reports
and reports completed by the girls' mothers). They also took
into account other factors such as race, the mother's
education and the mother's age when she started menstruating.
The girls' pubertal stage was assessed according to stage of
breast development and start of the menstrual cycle.
Breast development was measured using Tanner Stages, a way of
assessing physical development in children. For girls'
breasts Tanner Stage 1 is prepubertal and has no glandular
tissue and Stage 2 is where the breast buds are forming.
There are five Tanner stages altogether, with fully formed
adult breasts at Stage 5.
Dr Lee and her team used statistical logistic regression to
predict early versus late puberty from Body Mass Index (BMI)
which combines weight and height.
Of the 354 girls, 168 of them (48 per cent) were classed as
being "in puberty" by the age of 9, with 6.5 per cent having
started their menstrual cycle by age 11.
The results showed that an earlier onset of puberty was
positively and consistently linked to rate of change of BMI
between age 3 and grade 1, an earlier age of the mother's own
start of menstruation, and being non-white.
The researchers said that before this study, all we knew was
that higher BMI was linked to earlier onset of puberty but not
which caused the other. Now this study shows it is highly
likely that high BMI causes early puberty.
Other studies have shown that children are more obese than
they were 30 years ago, and also that puberty in girls
starts earlier than 30 years ago. Dr Lee and colleagues
said their study offers strong evidence that being
overweight in pre-puberty is what causes the early onset of
puberty in girls.
Early onset of puberty in girls is a serious health issue
because it is linked to increased mental problems, early abuse
of alcohol, early sexual encounters and teenage pregnancy. It
is also linked to increased obesity as a grown up and
reproductive cancers, said the researchers.
"Weight Status in Young Girls and the Onset of Puberty."
Joyce M. Lee, Danielle Appugliese, Niko Kaciroti, Robert F.
Corwyn, Robert
H. Bradley, and Julie C. Lumeng Pediatrics Vol. 119 No. 3
March 2007, pp. E624-E630 doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2188
Click here for Abstract.
Click here for the US NICHD Study of Early Child Care and
Youth Development (SECCYD).
Written by: Catharine Paddock Writer: Medical News Today
===
ABSTRACT
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/-
119/3/E624
PEDIATRICS Vol. 119 No. 3 March 2007, pp. E624-E630
(doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2188)
Weight Status in Young Girls and the Onset of Puberty Joyce M.
Lee, MD, MPHa,b, Danielle Appugliese, MPHc, Niko Kaciroti,
PhDd, Robert F. Corwyn, PhDe, Robert H. Bradley, PhDe and
Julie C. Lumeng, MDd,f
a Pediatric Endocrinology b Child Health Evaluation and
Research Unit f Child Behavioral Health, Department of
Pediatrics d Center for Human Growth and Development,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan c Data
Coordinating Center, Boston University School of Public
Health, Boston, Massachusetts e Center for Applied Studies in
Education, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, Arkansas
OBJECTIVE. We sought to examine the association between weight
status in early childhood and onset of puberty.
PATIENTS AND METHODS. The study included 354 girls from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study
of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Girls were followed
longitudinally with height and weight measurements at 36 and
54 months and grades 1, 4, 5, and 6 and with assessment of
pubertal stage by physical examination and maternal report in
grades 4 through 6. The main outcome was the presence of early
puberty, indexed as follows: (a) breast development at or more
than Tanner stage 2 by physical examination at grade 4; (b)
breast development at or more than Tanner stage 3 by physical
examination at grade 5; (c) maternal report of breast
development at or more than Tanner stage 3 at grade 5; and (d)
maternal report of menarche having already occurred (yes
versus no) at grade 6. Multiple logistic regression models
predicting early versus late puberty were constructed by using
the covariate BMI z score at 36 months, rate of change of BMI
and accelerated BMI between 36 months and grade 1, race,
maternal education, and maternal age of menarche.
RESULTS. BMI z score at 36 months, rate of change of BMI
between 36 months and grade 1, an earlier age of maternal
menarche, and nonwhite race were each consistently and
positively associated with an earlier onset of puberty across
the various measures of puberty.
CONCLUSIONS. Higher BMI z score in girls as young as 36 months
of age and higher rate of change of BMI between 36 months old
and grade 1, a period well before the onset of puberty, are
associated with earlier puberty, which suggests that
increasing rates of obesity in the United States may result in
an earlier average age of onset of puberty for US girls.
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
Key Words: puberty • obesity • child • body weight •
sexual maturation
Abbreviations: ITN—income-to-needs
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
Accepted Sep 15, 2006.