Early Puberty 2024: Early Puberty May Be Linked To Common Chemical In Personal Care Products
Early Puberty 2024: According to NBC, early puberty—before the age of eight in girls and nine in boys—can have long-term health effects, increasing the risk of breast cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
New research suggests that a compound found in a wide range of everyday personal care products, from cosmetics to air fresheners and cleaning products, may send signals to a brain region that triggers the onset of puberty.
Dr. Natalie Shaw, a pediatric endocrinologist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina, explains that this is the first time researchers have examined the potential impact of environmental chemicals on the brain to explain the rise in early puberty cases.
Early Puberty 2024, NBC reports that early puberty can lead to long-term health risks, including an increased chance of breast cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It may also result in shorter adult stature in both genders.
A May study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that menstruation begins earlier than age 11 in 15.5% of girls, with about 1.4% starting before age nine.
Early Puberty 2024: Early Puberty May Be Linked To Common Chemical
Early Puberty 2024, Previously, researchers have linked early menstruation to factors such as obesity, diet, socioeconomic status, and exposure to chemicals like phthalates, which can disrupt sex hormones.
Dr. Shaw, one of the lead authors of this new study, acknowledges that there is a link between weight gain and early menstruation but adds, “I agree that weight plays a role, but in my experience, not only those who are overweight or obese experience early puberty.”
Early Puberty 2024, She notes that while the timing of puberty is largely influenced by genetics, such significant changes in a normal pattern are 100% due to environmental factors. This prompted researchers to search for a compound to which children may be more frequently exposed.
If Shaw and her colleagues can identify a compound that sends puberty-starting signals to the brain, they will be able to uncover the mechanism underlying changes in puberty timing—something population studies have been unable to achieve.
Early Puberty 2024, The researchers examined 10,000 compounds from a pharmaceutical library, including approved drugs, environmental chemicals, and dietary supplements. They identified several compounds that could influence puberty timing. However, according to a report published in Endocrinology, children are most likely exposed to only one of these compounds: musk ambrette, a synthetic fragrance often used in products like perfumes, soaps, and cosmetics.
Musk ambrette can bind to a puberty-related receptor in the hypothalamus and trigger the release of GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone), a hormone involved in the maturation of sexual organs and the production of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone.
Early Puberty 2024, Shaw notes that musk ambrette is widely used in low-cost or counterfeit perfumes and other fragranced personal care products. Researchers also found the compound in wastewater and freshwater fish.
The next step for the researchers was to test the effects of musk ambrette on human hypothalamic cells and the larvae of certain fish species. They found that this compound stimulated GnRH production in both cases. Shaw says future studies will examine the effect of musk ambrette on mammals, such as rodents, and test for the compound in human blood.
Early Puberty 2024, Until more information becomes available, Shaw suggests that parents who want to prevent early puberty in their children check the ingredients in cosmetics, perfumes, and other products their children may use for musk ambrette.
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