What are the possible affective disorders in children with central precocious puberty (CPP)?
此前，JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH期刊发表的一项研究对CPP儿童的心理特质进行了深入剖析。
1
Study design
To ensure the accuracy and credibility of the study, the research team set clear criteria for participation: girls must show secondary sexual characteristics by the age of 8 years and boys by the age of 9 years, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis must be confirmed by biochemical testing at the pediatric endocrine clinic. Specifically, in the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test, the peak value of luteinizing hormone must be 5 mIU/mL or more, and the ratio of luteinizing hormone to follicle-stimulating hormone should not be less than 0.612. At the same time, the study also selected non-precocious puberty children who lived in the same area, age and sex as the reference group. The study excluded children with severe illness, intellectual disability, or language communication impairment, and data collection was completed between November 2020 and March 2021.
2
Findings:
Through a comparative analysis of CPP children and non-CPP children, the study revealed the unique psychological performance of CPP children. Although there was no significant difference in overall self-awareness between the two groups, at a more granular level, CPP children rated themselves significantly lower than non-CPP children, especially in terms of physical appearance and self-attributes, well-being, and satisfaction. This may be related to the mental and physical changes that come with their early physical development. At the same time, children with CPP also score higher on anxiety indicators, which may mean that they face greater psychological stress and distress.
In assessing depressive conditions, specialized psychological scales were used. The results showed that the CPP children scored significantly higher than the non-CPP children on the total depression score and a number of specific assessment items. These assessment items include expectations for the future, emotional vulnerability, personal self-confidence, and loneliness, all of which reveal the psychological distress and emotional problems that children with CPP may experience.
In addition, the study also found that there were differences in the psychological characteristics of different genders among children with CPP. While boys and girls differed little in overall self-awareness and total depression scores, they differed at a more specific level of assessment. Girls scored higher on anxiety than boys, while boys gave higher self-ratings on happiness and satisfaction.
bibliography
Huang H, Liu L, Su S, Xie D. Self-consciousness and depression in precocious pubertal children. J Int Med Res. 2021 May; 49(5):3000605211020227. doi: 10.1177/03000605211020227. PMID: 34057841; PMCID: PMC8753789.
Writing Editor: Robin Typesetting Editor: Yang Liu