A study by the Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP) concluded that children with early puberty are at a greater risk of developing obesity and cardiometabolic disorders.
According to Maria João Fonseca, the first author of the research, “there are several studies, especially in women, which show that early pubertal development negatively influences cardiometabolic health in adulthood. However, some studies suggest that this association may be explained by the already higher level of the previous adiposity in these children”.
The ISPUP research, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, sought to clarify several questions, namely whether “the association between early puberty and cardiometabolic risk is already detectable at 10 years of age; if the association is equally found in females and males; and if it is independent of childhood adiposity”, the researcher adds.
The study evaluated the pubertal development of about 4,500 children from the Generation XXI cohort – a longitudinal study that follows, since 2005, 8,600 participants who were born in public maternity hospitals in the Porto Metropolitan Area.
The researchers assessed the pubertal development of 10-year-old children using the Tanner scale. Pubic hair and breast development were evaluated in girls, and pubic hair and testicular volume in boys. Additionally, data on cardiometabolic indicators and total and central adiposity were collected.
Independently of previous BMI, girls with early puberty had higher total and central adiposity, and increased levels of glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR, which may predict a worse glucose metabolism. Boys also showed higher total and central adiposity, but no changes in glucose metabolism.
“We realize that regardless of children´s BMI before the onset of puberty, those with early puberty are more likely to develop obesity and cardiometabolic disorders. This is true at the age of 10”, says Maria João Fonseca. The researcher adds that “it is important that parents and paediatricians are aware of signs of pubertal development in order to be able to identify children with early puberty. The cardiometabolic indicators of these children should be monitored and they should be a target for public health interventions aiming to improve cardiometabolic health”.
The article, developed within the Epidemiology Research Unit (EPIUnit) of ISPUP, is entitled Association of Pubertal Development With Adiposity and Cardiometabolic Health in Girls and Boys – Findings From the Generation XXI Birth Cohort. The researchers Ana Cristina Santos, Andreia Oliveira, Inês Azevedo and Joana Nunes also participated in the study.
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