New Delhi: A new study has found that children who start puberty earlier than usual are more likely to face long-lasting mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and attention disorders like ADHD.
The condition, known as central precocious puberty (CPP), happens when puberty begins too early, before age eight in girls and before age nine in boys. In this condition, physical changes like the growth of body hair and the development of sexual characteristics start much sooner than expected.
Researchers from University Hospital Essen, Germany, studied over 6,500 individuals, including around 1,100 with early puberty, using the country’s health insurance data. They tracked participants for 13 years to examine how early puberty might affect mental health in the long run.
The findings, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open, showed that children who experienced early puberty were about 50% more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition. These included depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders.
More specifically, the study found that early puberty increased the chances of:
Depression by 70%
Anxiety disorders by 45%
The researchers wrote, “CPP was associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, with evidence supporting long-term mental health outcomes.”
They also pointed out that the risk of conditions like depression and ADHD continued for up to eight years after puberty began early. This means the effects are not short-term and can stay with children as they grow older.
The study is significant because previous research on this topic has often been unclear or inconsistent, mostly due to small sample sizes or weak research methods. This large-scale research offers stronger proof that early puberty may have long-term impacts on children’s mental well-being.
Experts recommend that parents and caregivers watch for any signs of mental distress in children who go through puberty early. “Caretakers of children with (early puberty) should be vigilant for the emergence of psychiatric symptoms to initiate psychiatric care at an early stage,” the authors advised.
