The effects of polychlorinated bphenyls exposure on puberty precocious in girls

Puberty precocious (PP) is the appearance of secondary type characteristics before the age of 8 in girls and 9 in boys. PP can give rise to important outcomes such as breast cancer in the consequence of long lasting exposure to estrogen, to short stature in the consequence of early closure of epiphyses, and to psychosocial problems due to early growth. The conducted studies show that the onset age of puberty is gradually coming to earlier. Although the reason for puberty's coming to earlier age is not exactly known, genetics, endocrine and environmental factors are blamed in etiology. Chemicals named endocrine destroyers among environmental factors can cause PP by displaying estrogen-like effect. We may be exposed to polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), one of these endocrine disruptors, in our daily life. In this study, the effect of PCBs on puberty is searched in girls at the age of 2-8 followed up with the diagnosis of idiopathic PP and isolated early thelarch in Pediatric Endocrinology Outpatient Clinic of Medical School Hospital in Ege University. As the control group, girl subjects with no puberty findings were included. The average age of subject group was 6,7 ± 1,2, and the average age of the healthy control group was 5,23±1,2. Serum and urine samples of the subject group and healthy control group were studied through PBCs method (GC-MS). The studied PCBs were not found in either of the subject and control groups. The weight BMI SDSs of the patients in subject group were 0,72±0,35, 0,49±1,09, respectively. The weight and BMI SDSs of the healthy group were -0,20±0,26, -0,12±1,28, respectively. Weight SDSs in the subject group were found to be significantly high (p = 0.008). Although no statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of BMI SDSs, BMI SDSs of the subject group were found to be proportionally higher than those of the healthy control group. This indicates that obesity and puberty are related. There is need for further studies in regard to the etiology of PP.