Precocious puberty

Precocious puberty is puberty that begins at an unusually early age, commonly defined for medical purposes as before age 8 in girls or age 9 in boys. In most cases the developmental process itself is normal and only its timing is early, representing a natural variation; in a minority of children, however, early development is triggered by an underlying medical cause such as a brain tumor or brain injury. The condition can carry psychological and social effects, including behavioral changes, and can reduce a child's eventual adult height. Two broad types are recognized, true central precocious puberty and pseudoprecocious puberty, and central precocious puberty can be managed by suppressing the pituitary hormones that drive sex steroid production. The condition falls under endocrinology, gynecology and andrology, and carries ICD-11 code 5A92 and ICD-10 codes E30.1 and E22.8.