Early Period is Red Flag for Teen Girls' Health

Early Period is Red Flag for Teen Girls' Health


The average age of puberty in the U.K., and other parts of the world, is younger than it was 60 years ago. This can be a problem for girls when precocious puberty leads to emotional and behavioral difficulties.


BERKSHIRE, England (WOMENSENEWS)--Janice Friar's teacher didn't believe her when Friar told her she'd just got her period. "She looked at me doubtfully, probably thinking I was mistaking vaginal discharge for period blood and was just desperate to prove I was a grown-up, the way typical kids do," Friar said thoughtfully in a phone interview. "I can't say I blame her. I bet she was wondering how you can start your period before you even leave primary school."
Friar was 9 years old the day she "saw blood in my pants and just freaked out" at her school in Bristol, England. Now 16, Friar embodies a trend in Britain and many parts of the world of earlier onset of puberty. Today, the average age of puberty in the United Kingdom is 10.5 years old, down from 13.1 in 1950, according to Plymouth University. Puberty onset ages are similar in the U.S. for white girls but among black teens the average age for breast budding is more than a year and half earlier, according to a 2010 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The red flags--growths spurts, pubic hair and acne before a girl has entered secondary school -- can cause social difficulties and estrangement from peers. When a girl looks like she is growing up she often loses friends and drops activities appropriate to her real age and gains admission to an older social sphere.

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Louise Greenspan and Julianna Deardorff are authors of "The New Puberty: How to Handle Early Development in Today's Girls." In the book they write that emotional and behavioral difficulties often come with precocious puberty. "Girls with early puberty experience higher rates of depression and anxiety," they write. "They also exhibit increased rates of smoking and delinquent behavior, as well as earlier sexual experiences."

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Researchers still don't fully understand what is causing the rise in early puberty. Various studies have pointed to family stress, obesity, even too many sugary drinks at a sensitive point in hormonal development. (hmm, maybe talk about the growth hormones, the junk put into our food, air, water and soil, the industrial pollution, just for starters??? or all the medications flushed into our water systems???)
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http://womensenews.org/story/reproductive-health/150422/early-period-red-flag-teen-girls-health