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Best Practice & Research. Clinical... Jan 2022Puberty marks the end of childhood and is a period when individuals undergo physiological and psychological changes to achieve sexual maturation and fertility. The onset... (Review)
Review
Puberty marks the end of childhood and is a period when individuals undergo physiological and psychological changes to achieve sexual maturation and fertility. The onset of puberty is first detected as an increase in pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). Pubertal onset is regulated by genetic, nutritional, environmental, and socio-economic factors. Disturbances affecting pubertal timing result in adverse health conditions later in life. Human genetic studies show that around 50-80% of the variation in pubertal onset is genetically determined. The genetic control of pubertal timing has been a field of active investigation in attempt to better understand the neuroendocrine control of this relevant period of life. Large populational studies and patient cohort-based studies have provided insights into the genetic regulation of pubertal onset. In this review, we discuss these discoveries and discuss potential mechanisms for how implicated genes may affect pubertal timing.
Topics: Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Humans; Puberty; Puberty, Delayed; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 35183440
DOI: 10.1016/j.beem.2022.101618 -
Ciencia & Saude Coletiva Sep 2022This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sexual maturation and anthropometric and blood pressure indicators in teenagers. This was a population-based...
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sexual maturation and anthropometric and blood pressure indicators in teenagers. This was a population-based cross-sectional study, conducted with 345 teenagers, aged 10 to 19 years, between 2018 and 2020. In this study, data referent to sociodemographic and anthropometric variables, blood pressure, and sexual maturation were collected. The data analysis was performed by applying the Principle Component Analysis (PCA), which generated three components and then tested the correlation between sexual maturation and the generated components. Most of the teenagers were female (53%), normotensive (66.1%), and with a normal weight (73%). A positive correlation was found between breast development and component 1 and component 2, as well as a negative correlation between the breasts and component 3. In the boys, the development of genitals and pubic hair was positively correlated with component 2 and inversely correlated with component 3. It could therefore be concluded that there is a relationship between sexual maturation and the anthropometric and blood pressure indicators, which proved to be representative variables for cardiovascular risk in teenagers, even if not in their entirety.
Topics: Adolescent; Anthropometry; Blood Pressure; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 36000648
DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232022279.04622022 -
Revista Paulista de Pediatria : Orgao... Sep 2013OBJECTIVE To analyze methodological and ethical aspects in the sexual maturation assessment of adolescents. DATA SOURCES Books and theses, articles and legislations on... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE To analyze methodological and ethical aspects in the sexual maturation assessment of adolescents. DATA SOURCES Books and theses, articles and legislations on the Medline, SciELO, Science Direct databases, besides institutional documents of the World Health Organization and the Pediatric Societies of Brazil and São Paulo, considering the period from 1962 to 2012. The following keywords were used in Portuguese and English: "sexual maturation", "self-assessment", "ethics", "OBJECTIVE assessment of sexual maturation", "puberty", "adolescent", and "adolescentdevelopment". DATA SYNTHESIS The sexual maturation assessment is used in populatinal studies and in clinical daily care. The direct evaluation is performed by a specialized physician, whereas the self-assessment is carried out by the adolescent. This evaluation should be carefully performed in the appropriate place, taking into account the ethical aspects. The patient should not be constrained and the physician must respect the privacy and the confidentiality. Before this evaluation and independently of the used method, the adolescent should receive information and explanation about the procedure and the tools that will be applied. Furthermore, the patient has the right to want or not an adult close to him. CONCLUSIONS Validation studies showed that self-assessment is inferior to clinical assessment and should, therefore, be performed only when the direct examination by physicians is not possible.
Topics: Adolescent; Female; Humans; Male; Physical Examination; Self-Examination; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 24142325
DOI: 10.1590/S0103-05822013000300019 -
Nutrients Jan 2021Puberty is a crucial developmental stage in the life span, necessary to achieve reproductive and somatic maturity. Timing of puberty is modulated by and responds to... (Review)
Review
Puberty is a crucial developmental stage in the life span, necessary to achieve reproductive and somatic maturity. Timing of puberty is modulated by and responds to central neurotransmitters, hormones, and environmental factors leading to hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis maturation. The connection between hormones and nutrition during critical periods of growth, like fetal life or infancy, is fundamental for metabolic adaptation response and pubertal development control and prediction. Since birth weight is an important indicator of growth estimation during fetal life, restricted prenatal growth, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and small for gestational age (SGA), may impact endocrine system, affecting pubertal development. Successively, lactation along with early life optimal nutrition during infancy and childhood may be important in order to set up timing of sexual maturation and provide successful reproduction at a later time. Sexual maturation and healthy growth are also influenced by nutrition requirements and diet composition. Early nutritional surveillance and monitoring of pubertal development is recommended in all children, particularly in those at risk, such as the ones born SGA and/or IUGR, as well as in the case of sudden weight gain during infancy. Adequate macro and micronutrient intake is essential for healthy growth and sexual maturity.
Topics: Child; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Fetus; Humans; Infant; Nutritional Status; Puberty; Sexual Maturation; Time Factors
PubMed: 33525559
DOI: 10.3390/nu13020419 -
Current Opinion in Endocrinology,... Feb 2018The current review summarizes recent epidemiologic data demonstrating the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) on the timing of puberty and highlights the... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The current review summarizes recent epidemiologic data demonstrating the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) on the timing of puberty and highlights the complexity of understanding the interplay of environmental and genetic factors on pubertal timing.
RECENT FINDINGS
In girls, there have been mixed results, with some exposures being associated with earlier timing of puberty, and some with later puberty. In boys, prepubertal exposures to nondioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls accelerate puberty, whereas levels of insecticides, dioxin-like compounds, organochlorine pesticides, and lead delay puberty.
SUMMARY
The effects of EDCs on pubertal timing are sexually dimorphic, compound specific, and varies according to the window of exposure. These studies confirm that low-level exposures to a mix of environmental compounds may mask the effects of individual compounds and complicate our ability to translate data from animal studies to human health and to fully understand the clinical implications of environmental epidemiology studies.
Topics: Animals; Endocrine Disruptors; Environmental Exposure; Female; Humans; Male; Pesticides; Puberty; Sexual Maturation; Time Factors
PubMed: 29135489
DOI: 10.1097/MED.0000000000000377 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022Sexual maturation is fundamental to the reproduction and production performance, heterosis of which has been widely used in animal crossbreeding. However, the underlying...
Sexual maturation is fundamental to the reproduction and production performance, heterosis of which has been widely used in animal crossbreeding. However, the underlying mechanism have long remained elusive, despite its profound biological and agricultural significance. In the current study, the reciprocal crossing between White Leghorns and Beijing You chickens were performed to measure the sexual maturation heterosis, and the ovary lncRNAs and mRNAs of purebreds and crossbreeds were profiled to illustrate molecular mechanism of heterosis. Heterosis larger than 20% was found for pubic space and oviduct length, whereas age at first egg showed negative heterosis in both crossbreeds. We identified 1170 known lncRNAs and 1994 putative lncRNAs in chicken ovary using a stringent pipeline. Gene expression pattern showed that nonadditivity was predominant, and the proportion of nonadditive lncRNAs and genes was similar between two crossbreeds, ranging from 44.24% to 49.15%. A total of 200 lncRNAs and 682 genes were shared by two crossbreeds, respectively. GO and KEGG analysis showed that the common genes were significantly enriched in the cell cycle, animal organ development, gonad development, ECM-receptor interaction, calcium signaling pathway and GnRH signaling pathway. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified that 7 out of 20 co-expressed lncRNA-mRNA modules significantly correlated with oviduct length and pubic space. Interestingly, genes harbored in seven modules were also enriched in the similar biological process and pathways, in which nonadditive lncRNAs, such as and , were strongly associated with nonadditive genes, such as and to affect gonad development and GnRH signaling pathway, respectively. Moreover, the results of real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) correlated well with the transcriptome data. Integrated with positive heterosis of serum GnRH and melatonin content detected in crossbreeds, we speculated that nonadditive genes involved in the GnRH signaling pathway elevated the gonad development, leading to the sexual maturation heterosis. We characterized a systematic landscape of ovary lncRNAs and mRNAs related to sexual maturation heterosis in chicken. The quantitative exploration of hybrid transcriptome changes lays foundation for genetic improvement of sexual maturation traits and provides insights into endocrine control of sexual maturation.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Female; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Hybrid Vigor; Ovary; RNA, Long Noncoding; RNA, Messenger; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 35966096
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.951534 -
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2023
Topics: Sexual Maturation; Humans; Puberty
PubMed: 37560304
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1258656 -
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Jun 2017The onset of adolescence is a time of profound changes in motivation, cognition, behavior, and social relationships. Existing neurodevelopmental models have integrated... (Review)
Review
The onset of adolescence is a time of profound changes in motivation, cognition, behavior, and social relationships. Existing neurodevelopmental models have integrated our current understanding of adolescent brain development; however, there has been surprisingly little focus on the importance of adolescence as a sensitive period for romantic and sexual development. As young people enter adolescence, one of their primary tasks is to gain knowledge and experience that will allow them to take on the social roles of adults, including engaging in romantic and sexual relationships. By reviewing the relevant human and animal neurodevelopmental literature, this paper highlights how we should move beyond thinking of puberty as simply a set of somatic changes that are critical for physical reproductive maturation. Rather, puberty also involves a set of neurobiological changes that are critical for the social, emotional, and cognitive maturation necessary for reproductive success. The primary goal of this paper is to broaden the research base and dialogue about adolescent romantic and sexual development, in hopes of advancing understanding of sex and romance as important developmental dimensions of health and well-being in adolescence.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Animals; Brain; Female; Humans; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 27720399
DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.09.004 -
Journal of Research on Adolescence :... Mar 2019In recent decades, theoretical and methodological advances have operated synergistically to advance understanding of puberty and prompt increasingly comprehensive models... (Review)
Review
In recent decades, theoretical and methodological advances have operated synergistically to advance understanding of puberty and prompt increasingly comprehensive models that engage with the temporal, psychosocial, and biological dimensions of this maturational milepost. This integrative overview discusses these theoretical and methodological advances and their implications for research and intervention to promote human development in the context of changing maturational schedules and massive ongoing social transformations.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adolescent Health; Biological Evolution; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Neurosciences; Puberty; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 30869841
DOI: 10.1111/jora.12411 -
British Medical Journal Jan 1958
Topics: Humans; Puberty; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 13489359
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.1.5064.193