ESPE Abstracts

Introduction:Premature adrenarche (PA) is the most common cause of premature pubic and axillary hair growth before the age of 8 in girls. At the time of diagnosis, the height and bone age of the cases with premature adrenarche were determined to be higher than their peers. The long-term effects of advanced bone age on the final length of the cases are controversial. In this study, it is aimed to share the long-term follow-up data of the cases diagnosed with premature adrenarche.

Method:143 patients followed by the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic between 1994-2022 with pubic and/or axillary hair were included in the study.

Results: Out of 143 cases, 132 were diagnosed with PA, 6 with non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia, 2 with adrenocortical carcinoma, 2 with rapidly progressive puberty, and 1 with growth hormone excess. The mean height SDS of the patients with PA was 0.59 ±1.06. Their target height SDS was -0.25±0.87, median bone age was 8.36(IQR:1.02), and median estimated adult height SDS was -0.27(IQR:1.55). The mean difference between bone age and chronological age was 0.73±1.05years. 12.7% of the cases were SGA. HOMA-IR was higher than 2.21 in 25.8%. 34.8%(n:46) of premature adrenarche cases reached the final height. The mean final height SDS was 0.15±1.01. In the cases who reached the final, the mean final height SDS-target heightSDS was 0.34±0.78, and the mean final height SDS-PAH SDS was 0.38±1.05. A significant correlation was found between the first height SDS-target height SDS and the final height SDS-target height SDS in paired t-test(P=0.002). It was observed that the subjects whose height was above the target at the time of presentation completed their growth with a height above their target, although their SDS decreased significantly until the final. The difference between the final height and target height SDS of the patients with SGA was significantly lower than that of those without. The mean final height SDS-target height SDS of the subjects with SGA was -0.06±0.46 and their mean final heightSDS was below the target.

Conclusion: As a result, it became clear that even though the cases of premature adrenarche had advanced bone age at the time of diagnosis, it was observed that they completed their final height above their target height. However, it was shown that this was not valid in cases with a history of SGA birth, and they were below their targets.