The effects of the covid-19 pandemic on puberty: a cross-sectional, multicenter study from Turkey

Mutlu, Gül Yeşiltepe; Eviz, Elif; Haliloğlu, Belma; Kırmızıbekmez, Heves; Dursun, Fatma; Özalkak, Şervan; Çayır, Atilla; Sacli, Beste Yuksel; Özbek, Mehmet Nuri; Demirbilek, Hüseyin; Hatun, Şükrü

doi:10.1186/s13052-022-01337-z

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A different study conducted among several pediatric endocrinology clinics in Turkey reported an increase in precocious puberty and significantly accelerated puberty cases during the pandemic; the need for pubertal suppression treatment with GnRH analogs was augmented too. Comparing the two groups, age at presentation and age at pubertal onset were lower in the pandemic group than those in the pre-pandemic group but there was no significant difference between the BMI SDS values of the two groups ( 61 ).…”

Section: Precocious Puberty During the Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 81%

Early and precocious puberty during the COVID-19 pandemic

Prosperi

Chiarelli

2023

Front. Endocrinol.

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During the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly became a severe health emergency worldwide. In order to contrast the spread of the novel SARS-CoV-2, many countries implemented extraordinary restrictive measures, such as a strict lockdown and school closures. The pandemic had a great impact on children and adolescents’ daily life, leading to a much more sedentary lifestyle, to larger use of electronic devices and to an increase in stress-related symptoms. These conspicuous changes acted as disruptors of children’s normal development. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many studies reported an increase in the number of precocious puberty cases as well as a faster progression rate of puberty itself, if compared to the pre-pandemic years. In this review, our aim was to evaluate the incidence of new cases of early and precocious puberty during the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing variations in the timing of puberty and in pubertal progression rate, and to investigate the role of environmental and lifestyle factors during the pandemic in modulating the physiopathology of pubertal development. While a direct effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection remains, at the moment, a remote hypothesis, both physical and psychological factors related to the pandemic seem to have a role in triggering GnRH pulsatile secretion leading to earlier pubertal onset. It is indeed important to stress the need to clarify the exact role of COVID-19 in early pubertal onset comparing data from all over the world; long-term comprehensive studies are also pivotal to explain whether this phenomenon will continue while we resume pre-pandemic habits.

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Section: Precocious Puberty During the Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 81%

Early and precocious puberty during the COVID-19 pandemic

Prosperi

Chiarelli

2023

Front. Endocrinol.

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“…In the published reports of increased PP during COVID-19, in 2020, the reported cases were relatively disproportionally distributed, with 678 cases in Italy[ 2 - 6 ], 275 in Turkey[ 8 - 10 ], 237 in China[ 11 ], 22 in Brazil[ 12 ] and 155 in India[ 13 ]; Portugal was not included in further analyses (see below for details). In South Korea, with data obtained from the country’s hospital records/healthcare database, 95524 children were diagnosed with PP in 2017 (9.89% boys), increasing over the years to 166645 children in 2021 (19.55% boys).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent publications from several countries[ 2 - 5 ] have reported that more young people[ 6 - 10 ] (mainly girls) are experiencing PP/menarche during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared to the past[ 11 - 13 ]. This variation is attributed to the stress of confinement, lack of exercise, obesity, and disturbed sleep patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pandemic and precocious puberty - a Google trends study

Tselebis¹,

Zabulienė²,

Milionis³

et al. 2023

World J Methodol

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BACKGROUND Recent publications from several countries have reported that more young people (mainly girls) are experiencing precocious puberty (PP)/menarche during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic compared to the past. This variation is attributed to the stress of confinement, lack of exercise, obesity and disturbed sleep patterns. A common feature of the relevant papers, however, is the small number of reported cases of PP. Studies have shown that searches for diseases on the internet also reflect to some extent the epidemiology of these diseases. AIM To estimate, through internet searches for PP, any changes in the epidemiology of PP. METHODS We assessed in Google Trends searches for 21 PP-related terms in English internationally (which practically dwarf searches in other languages), in the years 2017-2021. Additionally, we assessed local searches for selected terms, in English and local languages, in countries where a rise in PP has been reported. Searches were collected in Relative Search Volumes format and analyzed using Kendall’s Tau test, with a statistical significance threshold of P < 0.05. RESULTS Internationally, searches for three PP-related terms showed no noticeable change over the study period, while searches for eight terms showed a decrease. An increase was found over time in searches for nine PP-related terms. Of the 17 searches in English and local languages, in countries where a rise in PP has been reported, 5 showed a significant increase over time. CONCLUSION Over the study period, more than half of the search terms showed little change or declined. The discrepancy between internet searches for PP and the reported increase in the literature is striking. It would be expected that a true increase in the incidence of PP would also be aptly reflected in Google trends. If our findings are valid, the literature may have been biased. The known secular trend of decreasing age of puberty may also have played a role.

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“…Many publications have been shared about the increase in puberty precocious cases from different continents of the world during the pandemic (5,(10)(11)(12)(13). This increase during the pandemic is associated with increased obesity and screen exposure due to closure and sedentary life (10).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, the ages at the presentation of the patients who presented before and during the pandemic period were similar to each other. In studies in the literature, studies are showing that the ages of the cases admitted during the pandemic period were younger (11,12,20).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Reason of Increasing Puberty Precocious Cases During the Pandemic Period: Obesity or Not?

GÜNDOĞAN>

Uğurlu

Gürbüz

et al. 2023

Türkiye Çocuk Hast Derg

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Objective: Publications have shown increased rate of precocious puberty and rapidly progressing puberty during the pandemic period. During the pandemic period, obesity has become widespread in children due to sedentary life, an increase in the time spent at home, and prolonged use of mobile devices. Obesity is a significant contributor to early puberty in females.We aimed to investigate whether obesity is a factor in the increase of puberty precocious cases during the pandemic. Material and Methods: In the study, female patients diagnosed with Puberty precocious /Rapidly Progressive Puberty in our clinic were divided into three groups August 2019-February 2020 before the pandemic (Group1-G1), August 2020-February 2021 during the pandemic (online education - Group2-G2), August 2021-February 2022 during the pandemic (face-to-face education -Group3-G3). The groups were retrospectively compared in terms of clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings. Results: A total of 495 female patients were included in the study. There was no difference between the groups in terms of age at the presentation. The most common complaint at presentation in the three groups was thelarche. Also, presentation with combination of thelarche and pubarche was more common in G3, and presentation due to menarche was more common in G2 (p=0.011). No difference was found between the groups regarding body weight SDS, and height SDS. The BMI SDS was 0.69±1 SD for all patients, 0.78±0.94 SD for G1, 0.67±1 SD for G2, and 0.67±1 for G3, and the BMI SDS of the groups were comparable (p=0.630). The majority of patients at the presentation were Breast Tanner stage 3. G2 (9%) and G3 (9%) were presented with Breast Tanner stage 4 at a higher frequency compared to G1 (2%). There was no difference between the groups’ FSH, LH, estradiol, LHRH test peak FSH, peak LH, and LH/FSH values. There was no difference between the bone ages of the groups at the presentation. The uterus size, right and left ovary volumes of G2 and G3 were significantly bigger than those of G1 (p=0.001). No difference was found between the groups in the rates of precocious puberty and rapidly progressing puberty cases. Conclusion: In our study, the age at presentation and BMI were similar pre-pandemic group G1 and during the pandemic, online education (G2) and pandemic face-to-face education (G3). We determined that obesity may not be one of the factors triggering precocious puberty cases during the pandemic period.

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The effects of the covid-19 pandemic on puberty: a cross-sectional, multicenter study from Turkey

Cited by 16 publications

References 23 publications

Early and precocious puberty during the COVID-19 pandemic

Early and precocious puberty during the COVID-19 pandemic

Pandemic and precocious puberty - a Google trends study

The Reason of Increasing Puberty Precocious Cases During the Pandemic Period: Obesity or Not?

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