Question
What factors cause idiopathic precocious puberty, and does it include the intake of exogenous androgens? When a patient starts to grow armpit hair, should testosterone levels increase?
Answer
Precocious puberty is a sexual development abnormality characterized by the premature onset of sexual maturity. It refers to the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before a child reaches the age of sexual maturity, including breast development, the growth of pubic and armpit hair, rapid growth in height and weight, and the development of external genitalia. The incidence rate of precocious puberty in children is approximately 0.6%, with more cases in females than in males. In the diet, it is advisable to avoid eating out-of-season fruits and vegetables, which may contain hormones used for ripening. Particularly large turtles and yellow croakers may accumulate hormones in their endocrine glands, such as the gonads, so it is best not to feed these animal organs to children.