Increased frequency of idiopathic central precocious puberty in girls during the COVID-19 pandemic: preliminary results of a tertiary center study

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have demonstrated an increase in the frequency of idiopathic central precocious puberty (CPP) during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) pandemic. We compared the demographic, anthropometric, and clinical characteristics of idiopathic CPP patients diagnosed during a one-year period of the COVID-19 pandemic with the characteristics of patients diagnosed during the same period in the previous three-years. METHODS: Demographic, clinical, anthropometric, and laboratory data of all patients diagnosed in our Pediatric Endocrinology clinic with idiopathic CPP during a one-year period of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020-March 2021) and a three-year period before the pandemic (April 2017-March 2020) were evaluated retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 124 patients (124 girls, zero boys) diagnosed with idiopathic CPP were included in this study. Sixty-six patients in the three-year period before the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2017-March 2020) and 58 patients (46.8%) in the one-year period during the COVID-19 pandemic period (April 2020-March 2021) were diagnosed with idiopathic CPP. CONCLUSIONS: This study's findings suggest that the number of girls diagnosed with idiopathic CPP during the one-year study period during the pandemic was more than double that of any of the previous three-years.