Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Sep;93(3):296-304.
doi: 10.1111/cen.14248. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Reproductive hormones during pubertal transition in girls with transient Thelarche

Julio Soto  1 , Ana Pereira  2 , Alexander Siegfried Busch  3   4 , Kristian Almstrup, Camila Corvalan, German Iñiguez  1 , Anders Juul  3   4 , Veronica Mericq  1
Affiliations

Reproductive hormones during pubertal transition in girls with transient Thelarche

Julio Soto et al. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Context: Transient thelarche (TT), that is, the appearance, regression and subsequent reappearance of breast buds, is a frequent phenomenon, but little is known about pubertal transition in these girls.

Objective: To describe pubertal progression, growth, genotypes, reproductive hormones and growth factors in girls with TT compared to those who do not present TT (non-TT).

Design: Retrospective analysis of a longitudinal population-based study.

Patients or other participants: Girls (n = 508) of the Chilean Growth and Obesity cohort.

Measurements: Pubertal progression, reproductive hormones, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) beta subunit/FSH receptor gene single nucleotide polymorphisms and growth.

Results: Thirty-seven girls (7.3%) were presented TT. These girls entered puberty by pubarche more frequently (51%) than girls with normal progression (non-TT; n = 471; 23%, P = .005). Girls with TT who were under 8 years old had lower androgens, anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and oestradiol (all P < .05) than older girls with TT. At the time of Tanner breast stage 2 (B2), girls with TT had higher androgens, LH, FSH, IGF1, LH, insulin and oestradiol (P < .01) than at the time of TT. TT girls were older at B2 (10.3 ± 1.1 vs. 9.2 ± 1.2 years, P < .001) and menarche (12.3 ± 0.8 vs. 12.0 ± 1.0 years, P = .040) than their counterparts (non-TT). No differences in anthropometric variables or FSHB/FSHR genotypes were detected.

Conclusion: Transient thelarche is a frequent phenomenon that does not appear to be mediated by hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activation or by adiposity. Hormonal differences between earlier TT and later TT suggest that their mechanisms are different.

Keywords: androgens; environmental disruptors; puberty; transient thelarche.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Kaplowitz P, Bloch C. Section on endocrinology AAoP. evaluation and referral of children with signs of early puberty. Pediatrics. 2016;137(1):e20153732.
    1. Jacobson-Dickman E, Lee MM. The influence of endocrine disruptors on pubertal timing. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2009;16(1):25-30.
    1. Day FR, Bulik-Sullivan B, Hinds DA, et al. Shared genetic aetiology of puberty timing between sexes and with health-related outcomes. Nat Commun. 2015;6:8842.
    1. Sorensen K, Aksglaede L, Petersen JH, et al. The exon 3 deleted growth hormone receptor gene is associated with small birth size and early pubertal onset in healthy boys. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010;95(6):2819-2826.
    1. Biro FM, Greenspan LC, Galvez MP, et al. Onset of breast development in a longitudinal cohort. Pediatrics. 2013;132(6):1019-1027.

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources