iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.
iBet uBet web content aggregator. Adding the entire web to your favor.



Link to original content: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19117864/
Thelarche, pubarche, and menarche attainment in children with normal and elevated body mass index - PubMed Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2009 Jan;123(1):84-8.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-0146.

Thelarche, pubarche, and menarche attainment in children with normal and elevated body mass index

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Thelarche, pubarche, and menarche attainment in children with normal and elevated body mass index

Robert L Rosenfield et al. Pediatrics. 2009 Jan.

Erratum in

  • Pediatrics. 2009 Apr;123(4):1255

Abstract

Background: The early onset of puberty may be related to obesity, so there is a need to know the prevalence of early pubertal milestones in nonoverweight children. OBJECTIVE. We compared attainment of stage 2 breasts, stage 3 (sexual) pubic hair, and menarche in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey sample of children with normal BMI with those with excessive BMI (> or =85th percentile).

Design/methods: The ages at which 5%, 50%, and 95% of youth had attained key pubertal stages were estimated by probit models. Logit models were then fit to compare attainment of these milestones in children of excessive and normal BMI.

Results: Pubertal signs occurred before 8.0 years of age in <5% of the normal-BMI general and non-Hispanic white female population. However, pubertal milestones generally appeared earlier in normal-BMI non-Hispanic black and Mexican American girls; thelarche occurred before age 8.0 in 12% to 19% of these groups, and the 5th percentile for menarche was 0.8 years earlier for non-Hispanic black than non-Hispanic white subjects. Pubarche was found in < or =3% of 8.0-year-old girls with normal BMI of all of these ethnic groups but was significantly earlier in minority groups. Pubarche appeared before 10.0 years in <2% of normal-BMI boys. Girls with excessive BMI had a significantly higher prevalence of breast appearance from ages 8.0 through 9.6 years and pubarche from ages 8.0 through 10.2 years than those with normal BMI. Menarche was also significantly more likely to occur in preteen girls with an elevated BMI.

Conclusions: Prevalence estimates are given for the key pubertal milestones in children with normal BMI. Breast and sexual pubic hair development are premature before 8 years of age in girls with normal BMI in the general population. Adiposity and non-Hispanic black and Mexican American ethnicity are independently associated with earlier pubertal development in girls.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources