NEW ORLEANS — We've been hearing about studies showing changes in the mental health of children and teens since the pandemic and lockdowns, but now there is another health consequence to youth worldwide that is happening at an unprecedented rate.
During the past few decades, little girls have been going through puberty at a younger age. Studies show every decade it starts around three months earlier, but during the pandemic the age change was dramatic.
“What we saw during the pandemic was a much more rapid advancement of puberty, and onset of puberty than we've seen,” Dr. Aviva Sopher, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University in New York said.
Dr. Sopher’s specialty is pediatric endocrinology. She says possible causes have been the rise in childhood obesity, chemicals in food, plastics, and personal-care products; and stressful or abusive home lives.
We found other studies suggesting the absence of a biological father in the home as well, but during the pandemic, there was more screen light time.
“The later hours of sleep, the disrupted sleep, and melatonin is a hormone that is secreted in the brain, and may be involved in the release of Kisspeptin, which is the hormone involved in onset of puberty.”
And it's not only the lower sleep hormone but the rise in the stress hormone during lockdowns.
“In the morning, your cortisol levels are higher, and in the evening and overnight your cortisol levels are lower,” she explained, for normal situations. “However, in stressful situations, you may be releasing cortisol 24 hours a day at very high levels.”
Lockdowns also meant less physical activity, and more over-eating.
“We definitely see an association between obesity and earlier puberty in girls,” Dr. Sopher said.
The physical health concerns of early puberty include: greater risk for obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and breast cancer. Dr. Sopher has another.
“My primary concern would be effect on growth. So, sometimes kids who go through puberty earlier and faster may not have as much time to grow as their peers.”
Other studies suggest it can lead to depression, eating disorders, sexual activity and abuse, and delinquent behavior.
“The problem with that is some teachers, other parents even might expect these kids to behave like an older child.”
But they are really just children acting their age, except in a grown-up-looking body.
Earlier puberty is also happening in boys, but not as much as in girls.
In some cases, doctors can use medications to delay the onset of puberty.