Delayed puberty overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:
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Overview
Puberty is described as delayed when a boy or girl has passed the usual age of onset of puberty with no physical or hormonal signs that it is beginning. Puberty may be delayed for several years and still occur normally, in which case it is considered constitutional delay, a variation of healthy physical development. Delay of puberty may also occur due to undernutrition, many forms of systemic disease, or to defects of the reproductive system (hypogonadism) or the body's responsiveness to sex hormones.
Historical Perspective
Studying the archaic humans in Pleistocene (i.e., greater than 10,000 years ago), it assumed that puberty was correlated with productivity in females. The age of menarche was between 7 and 13 years. Researchers have found that in a Turkana boy (from the species of Homo erectus) from 1.6 million years ago, the puberty was earlier than today humans; however, their final height were more than modern humans. The discovery and growth of agriculture in archaic world is the main reason of delaying puberty age, through a negative impact on child growth. Agricultural communities in contrast with hunter-gatherer communities, experienced tougher life style and rose with so many nutrition deficits; that may lead to their delayed puberty. Regarding that life style was growing and the complexity of societies were increasing in the past, the process of becoming adult from child was elongated and delayed puberty happened.
Classification
Delayed puberty is almost always due to physiologic exaggerated prolongation of puberty timing in boys, a condition called "constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP)". But the disease may sometimes has another pathophysiologies, such as hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, permanent hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, and functional hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.