Pubarche

About: Pubarche is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 248 publications have been published within this topic receiving 9770 citations.

Variations in the Pattern of Pubertal Changes in Boys

Abstract: Mixed longitudinal data on the physical changes at puberty in 228 normal boys are presented together with normal standards for stages of genital and pubic hair development. The genitalia began to develop between the ages 9½ years and 13½ years in 95% of boys (mean = 11.6 ± 0.09) and reached maturity at ages varying between 13 and 17 (mean = 14.9 ± 1.10). The age at which pubic hair first appeared was not accurately determined, but its development through the later stages was studied. It reached the equivalent of an adult female distribution at a mean age of 15.2 ± 0.01 years. On average the genitalia reached the adult stage 3.0 years after they first began to develop; but some boys completed this development in as little as 1.8 years while others took as much as 4.7 years. Some boys complete the whole process in less time than others take to go from Stage G2 to Stage G3. The genitalia begin to develop before pubic hair is visible in photographs in practically all boys. The 41 boys in whom it could be studied reached their maximum rate of growth (peak height velocity) at a mean age of 14.1 ± 0.14 years. Very few boys (about 5%) reached peak height velocity before their genitalia were in Stage 4 and over 20% did not do so until their genitalia were adult. Peak height velocity is reached, on the average, nearly 2 years later in boys than in girls, but the boys9 genitalia begin to develop only about 6 months later than the girls9 breasts. Pubic hair appears about 1½ years later in boys than in girls.

Premature adrenarche--normal variant or forerunner of adult disease?

Abstract: Adrenarche is the puberty of the adrenal gland. The descriptive term pubarche indicates the appearance of pubic hair, which may be accompanied by axillary hair. This process is considered premature if it occurs before age 8 yr in girls and 9 yr in boys. The chief hormonal product of adrenarche is dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated product DHEA-S. The well documented evolution of adrenarche in primates and man is incompatible with either a neutral or harmful role for DHEA and implies most likely a positive role for some aspect of young adult pubertal maturation and developmental maturation. Premature adrenarche has no adverse effects on the onset and progression of gonadarche in final height. Both extra- and intraadrenal factors regulate adrenal androgen secretion. Recent studies have shown that premature adrenarche in childhood may have consequences such as functional ovarian hyperandrogenism, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and insulin resistance in later life, sometimes already recognizable in childhood or adolescence. Premature adrenarche may thus be a forerunner of syndrome X in some children. The association of these endocrine-metabolic abnormalities with reduced fetal growth and their genetic basis remain to be elucidated.

Thelarche, Pubarche, and Menarche Attainment in Children With Normal and Elevated Body Mass Index

Abstract: BACKGROUND. The early onset of puberty may be related to obesity, so there is a need to know the prevalence of early pubertal milestones in nonoverweight children. OBJECTIVE. We compared attainment of stage 2 breasts, stage 3 (sexual) pubic hair, and menarche in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey sample of children with normal BMI with those with excessive BMI (≥85th percentile). DESIGN/METHODS. The ages at which 5%, 50%, and 95% of youth had attained key pubertal stages were estimated by probit models. Logit models were then fit to compare attainment of these milestones in children of excessive and normal BMI. RESULTS. Pubertal signs occurred before 8.0 years of age in CONCLUSIONS. Prevalence estimates are given for the key pubertal milestones in children with normal BMI. Breast and sexual pubic hair development are premature before 8 years of age in girls with normal BMI in the general population. Adiposity and non-Hispanic black and Mexican American ethnicity are independently associated with earlier pubertal development in girls.

Adrenarche - physiology, biochemistry and human disease.

Abstract: Adrenarche refers to the onset of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and DHEA-sulphate (DHEA-S) production from the adrenal zona reticularis that can be detected at around 6 years of age. The phenotypic result of adrenarche is pubarche or the development of axillary and pubic hair that occurs in both girls and boys at about age 8. The phenomenon of adrenarche is unique to human beings and to some Old World primates, and a reversal of adrenarche appears to occur in the ageing process. Premature and exaggerated adrenarche can be indicative of future onset of adult diseases, thus increasing the clinical relevance of adrenarche. The physiological triggers of adrenarche and the role(s) of DHEA-S remain speculative. However, the biochemical pathways that define adrenarche have been characterized in detail, and the appearance of key enzymes and cofactors in the adrenal zona reticularis track with the progression of adrenarche. This article reviews the clinical manifestations of adrenarche, the biochemistry of the enzymes involved in DHEA-S production, and the cell biology of the adrenal zona reticularis.

Exaggerated adrenarche and hyperinsulinism in adolescent girls born small for gestational age.

Abstract: Serum dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS) is a classic marker for adrenarche and, subsequently, for the individual hormonal milieu. We have tested the hypothesis that prenatal growth reduction is followed by exaggerated adrenarche. Serum DHEAS, androstenedione and insulin concentrations were determined together with fasting glycemia in matched populations of asymptomatic, non-obese, post-menarcheal girls (mean age 14 yr) who were born either with a strictly appropriate weight for gestational age (AGA) or small for gestational age (SGA). When compared to AGA girls, the SGA girls had identical glucose levels, higher values for insulin and androstenedione (p<0.01), and a two-fold rise of DHEAS concentrations (p<0.0001). In conclusion, girls with prenatal growth reduction were found to be prone to develop, besides hyperinsulinism, a variant of exaggerated adrenarche. It remains to be verified whether the exaggerated adrenarche in adolescence is followed by adrenal hyperandrogenism throughout adulthood and senescence.