Pubic Hair in Infancy

Clinical Characteristics of 104 Children Referred for Evaluation of Precocious Puberty

“…Diamond et al (19) in 1989 described six healthy boys aged 4 -8 months with hair on the scrotum, which disappeared over time, but no other signs of androgen excess. Adams et al (20) described three girls with labial hair in infancy, in whom testosterone levels were all appropriately low; ACTH testing was normal in two and possibly indicative of deficiency of the adrenal enzyme 3␤-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in one. The fact that over a 3-yr period eight infants were seen with fine labial or scrotal hair suggests this condition is becoming more common.…”

Diagnosing children with signs of early puberty: knowing when to test and when to just monitor

“…This was thought to be rare when first described in girls in 1992 [9] but has over the last two decades become increasingly common. At my hospital in Washington DC, we identified 71 patients (82% female) over a 4-year period with 'genital hair of infancy' [10].…”

Clinical characteristics of children referred for signs of early puberty before age 3

“…Because of the very early age of onset and the distribution and appearance of hair that is different than the suprapubic distribution seen in most children with premature adrenarche appearing after age 3, this has been referred to as genital hair of infancy (GHI). This was at one time considered unusual enough that a small series of patients (6 males in 1989 and 3 girls in 1992) were reported with benign hormonal testing (3,4). However, the increasing frequency of this diagnosis became apparent when three larger series were published in 2006 and 2007 (5)(6)(7).…”