One-Year Follow-Up of Girls with Precocious Puberty and Their Mothers: Do Psychological Assessments Change over Time or with Treatment?

Abstract

Background: To determine whether psychological characteristics of girls with variations of early puberty and their mothers change over time and with treatment in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP). Methods: Girls with CPP, premature adrenarche (PA), and early normal puberty (ENP) completed psychological assessments at baseline and after 1 year along with their mothers. All girls with CPP were treated with GnRH analogs. Psychological effects of group and time were examined using 2 × 3 mixed ANOVAs. Results: Sixty-two subjects aged 7.5 ± 1.4 years (range 4.8–10.5) were enrolled, of whom 36 (15 with CPP, 8 with PA, and 13 with ENP) completed 1-year follow-up assessments. Psychological measures were normal in all girls. No significant group differences were found for any measure of girls’ psychological functioning at either time point. However, across all groups there was change over time with a decrease in perceived physical competence (p < 0.001) and an increase in perceived maternal acceptance (p = 0.001). Conclusion: No abnormalities in psychological functioning were found among girls with variations of early puberty, and all groups were in the normal range. Our results are largely reassuring regarding concerns of adverse psychological consequences of early puberty in girls.

Long‐term efficacy and safety of gonadotropin‐releasing hormone analog treatment in children with idiopathic central precocious puberty: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Early evidence has indicated that precocious puberty may lead to certain psychological or social problems, which are considered to bother parents and may affect the clinical treatment of CPP 40 . However, according to the results of the included studies, GnRHa treatment did not worsen the cognitive, psychological and social problems of children with ICPP and has the potential to reduce problems in some children, which was consistent with recent evidence 41,42 …”

Toward More Targeted and Cost-Effective Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analog Treatment in Girls with Central Precocious Puberty

“…Baseline psychological assessments of cognitive competence, peer acceptance, physical competence, and maternal acceptance were, on average, normal in all groups. After 1 year of follow-up, findings were “largely reassuring regarding concerns of adverse psychological consequences of early puberty in girls” [25]. A study of 15 girls with CPP and 15 age-matched controls reported the only detectable difference in a large battery of tests was that treated girls showed higher emotional reactivity on 1 of 2 tests.…”

Treatment of Central Precocious Puberty

“…Because of conflicting conclusions in the medical literature in this area, no clear consensus regarding the risk of psychopathology in children with CPP exists [37]. Although some studies have indicated increased stress and anxiety in girls with CPP [38, 39], others have found no differences in psychological functioning as compared with control subjects [40, 41]. This is an area in which more research is definitely needed.…”