ISSN 1662-4009 (online)

ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology (2018) 15 7.13 | DOI: 10.1530/ey.15.7.13

ESPEYB15 7 PUBERTY Secular trends and Turner syndrome (1 abstracts)

7.13 Secular Trends on Birth Parameters, Growth, and Pubertal Timing in Girls with Turner Syndrome

Woelfle J , Lindberg A , Aydin F , Ong KK , Camacho-Hubner C & Gohlke B


Pediatric Endocrinology Division, Children’s Hospital, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany


To read the full abstract: Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018 Feb 28;9:54

Secular trends in birth parameters1-3, growth4,5, and timing of puberty6-8 are observed in normal populations. Changes in nutrition, better access to health care, and other environmental factors have been implicated as causative factors for those changes. Here, the authors assessed secular trends in birth parameters, spontaneous growth and pubertal development in patients with Turner syndrome. They found a highly significant secular trend for GH-untreated height at 8 years of age. In addition, secular trends for height were present at the start of GH treatment and at the start of puberty. Reported secular trends in height in normal populations differ between countries. Eastern and developing countries still show marked positive secular trends, while Western countries show only small or even negative secular trends in growth. In contrast, Turner syndrome girls included a wide variety of ethnicities, yet the positive secular trend in height SDS at the age of 8 years was observed for all, irrespective from their country of residence. The authors also found a small positive secular trend for birth weight, but only a minor trend in birth length. These findings are consistent with other data on healthy term infants. Finally, they also found a substantial decline in the age at spontaneous thelarche, of about 2 years between those born before 1980 to those born in 2000–2004. Furthermore, the prevalence in spontaneous puberty onset doubled between before 1980 to 1995–1999. In addition to these environment-related trends, awareness for Turner syndrome seems to have improved, leading to earlier ages at the start of GH and pharmacological induction of puberty.

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