Precocious puberty is truly a global medical concern

---

Pen-Hua Su

Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taiwan

: Endocrinol Diabetes Res

Abstract

---

Precocious puberty (PP) is generally defined as the appearance of secondary sex characteristics that occur before the age of 8 in girls or 9 in boys. Precocious puberty may be caused by central or peripheral mechanisms. PP is characterized as the early maturation of the HPG axis. Idiopathic CPP represents majority of the cases in girls, whereas organic etiologies are more frequent in boys. PP may affect children’s final body height and increase the risk of mental health problems. The increasing incidence and prevalence of PP are observed globally, and no exception for Asia. Diagnosis of CPP requires evaluation of clinical feature, biochemical examination, and imaging. This is the first register-based (NHIRD), nationwide, epidemiologic study on PP development in Taiwan. Both the incidence and prevalence of PP and early precocious incidence were found to be increasing, which is also similar with other previous studies. Precocious puberty is currently a medically concerning problem in developed and developing countries. Higher rate of children’s outpatient visits for PP after 2004, which might have been associated with the Chinese Milk Formula Incident in 2008 and the Taiwan Food Incident (the plasticizer DEHP contained in food and drinks as a clouding agent.). In Taiwan, the OPD visit is related to the media awareness of PP and news events which recognized by parents to raise strongly care about the health status of their children. We advocate that paying increased attention to children’s healthy, environmental hormones and diet is important, as precocious puberty may increase the physiological and psychological problems in children. We highly recommend parents should seek medical treatment for their PP children earlier.

Biography

---

Dr. Pen-Hua Su graduated with honors from the Taipei Medical University School of Medicine in 1991 and completed pediatric clinical training at Chung Shan University Hospital in 1995. From 1996 to1998, she conducted clinical and research training through genetics, metabolic and endocrinology fellowship training in National Taiwan university. Between 2004 and 2006, she completes the postdoctoral training in Chung Shan Medical University. Dr. Pen-Hua Su is Professor and Director of Pediatric Genetics and Endocrinology at Chung Shan Medical University and Medical Center in Taichung, Taiwan. She is responsible for endocrine research and large multi-center trials in Taiwan and is the co-director of Environmental Health Sciences of Taiwan National Health Research Institutes, which focuses on the endocrine and metabolic effects of childhood acute and chronic diseases, growth retardation. Professor Su has over 20 years of experience in pediatric endocrine, genetics and inherited metabolic diseases. One of her main research areas is clinical research in patients with pituitary diseases. These studies have focused on the diagnosis and treatment for patients with precious puberty, growth hormone deficiency and dysfunction, disease with born SGA, and Prader-Willi syndrome patients. She published about 150 scientific papers published in peer-reviewed journals, and she received several awards for her research.