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Multicenter Study
. 2024 Jul 12;109(8):2061-2070.
doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgae035.

Central Precocious Puberty in Italian Boys: Data From a Large Nationwide Cohort

Alessandra Cassio  1   2 , Gloria Marescotti  1 , Tommaso Aversa  3   4 , Mariacarolina Salerno  5 , Gianluca Tornese  6   7 , Marianna Stancampiano  8 , Gerdi Tuli  9 , Maria Felicia Faienza  10 , Paolo Cavarzere  11 , Daniela Fava  12   13 , Maria Parpagnoli  14 , Patrizia Bruzzi  15 , Anastasia Ibba  16 , Valeria Calcaterra  17 , Chiara Mameli  18 , Anna Grandone  19 , Valentino Cherubini  20 , Valentina Assirelli  1   2 , Francesca Franchina  3   4 , Donatella Capalbo  21 , Raffaella Di Mase  21 , Gianluca Tamaro  6 , Julia Cavasin  7 , Jessica Munarin  9 , Gianni Russo  8 , Malgorzata Wasniewska  3   4 ; Physiopathology of Growth Processes and Puberty Study Group of the Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetology
Collaborators, Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Central Precocious Puberty in Italian Boys: Data From a Large Nationwide Cohort

Alessandra Cassio et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. .

Abstract

Context: There are only a few nationwide studies on boys with central precocious puberty (CPP) and the last Italian study is a case series of 45 boys that dates back to 2000.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the causes of CPP in boys diagnosed during the last 2 decades in Italy and the relative frequency of forms with associated central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared to idiopathic ones.

Methods: We performed a national multicenter retrospective study collecting data from 193 otherwise normal healthy boys with a diagnosis of CPP. Based on MRI findings, the patients were divided into: Group 1, no CNS abnormalities; Group 2, mild abnormalities (incidental findings) unrelated to CPP; and Group 3, causal pathological CNS abnormalities.

Results: The MRI findings show normal findings in 86%, mild abnormalities (incidental findings) in 8.3%, and causal pathological CNS abnormalities in 5.7% of the cases. In Group 3, we found a higher proportion of patients with chronological age at diagnosis < 7 years (P = .00001) and body mass index greater than +2 SDS (P < .01). Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue therapy was started in 183/193 subjects. The final height appeared in the range of the target height in all groups and in 9 patients in whom the therapy was not started.

Conclusion: In our study on a large nationwide cohort of boys referred for precocious puberty signs, the percentage of forms associated with CNS abnormalities was one of the lowest reported in the literature.

Keywords: boys; central precocious puberty; magnetic resonance imaging.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Design of the study and overview of recruitment of male patients with CPP.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Frequency and etiology of CPP cases divided according to the referral periods: 2001–2005, 2006–2010, 2011–2015, and 2016–2020.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Final heights and target heights in the 3 groups of subjects diagnosed with CPP who underwent GnRH analogue therapy and in a group of subjects diagnosed with CPP who did not start therapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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