Does precocious puberty and its treatment cause the emotional and behavioural problems in children?

Central precocious puberty (CPP) occurs as a result of early activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. In recent years, especially after the COVID pandemic, presentations with signs of precocious puberty and cases requiring treatment have increased all over the world. Recent studies have showed that CPP patients are more likely to have social and psychiatric problems than their peers of the same age and gender. The aim of our study is to examine the psychiatric symptoms and quality of life of the children newly diagnosed with CPP and cases under treatment more than one year and to compare these symptoms with age and gender-matched healthy children. The research was planned as a cross-sectional study and included 47 female and 3 male patients (n = 50) who were followed up for CPP. The control group (CG) consisted of healthy children matched with the case group in terms of age and gender (n = 25). The case group was divided into two groups; patients who were newly diagnosed and did not receive treatment yet and patients who had been receiving treatment for at least one year. Sociodemographic form, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale-Child Version (RCADS-CV), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), TURGAY DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale (T-DSM-IV-S) were applied to the children and their families. 50 cases diagnosed with CPP with a mean age of 8.95±1.07 years (25 at diagnosis, 25 on follow-up) and 25 healthy children with a mean age of 8.79±1.02 years were enrolled the study. 94% of CPP group (PG) (n = 47) and 84% of control group (CG) (n = 21) were girls. When the child and parent forms have evaluated; there was no significant difference between three groups in terms of quality of life (child and parent forms), anxiety and depression scores, strengths and difficulties scores. Similar results were obtained between three groups in terms of inattention and hyperactivity scores, oppositional defiance and conduct disorder scores according to the scale. Conclusion: In the present study, psychiatric symptoms and quality of life were compared between the three groups and no significant difference was detected. While it is a favorable finding that there is no difference in terms of these symptoms in children with early adolescence, it is crucial to consider children with a chronic disease in a multidisciplinary approach and to assess the cases for the potential negative impacts on their quality of life.