Delayed Puberty A4 Info Handout Sheet.docx

Delayed PubertyWhat It Is Puberty usually occurs between the ages of 7 and 13 for girls, and between the ages of 9 and 15 for boys Delayed puberty is when people pass the normal age range for puberty without showing any signs of body changes Clinically defined as the absence or incomplete development of secondary sexual characteristics bounded by an age at which 95 percent of children of that sex and culture have initiated sexual maturation Not growing and developing physically as quickly as his or her peers Constitutional delay of growth and puberty Boys: lack of increase in testicle size by the age of 14Girls: lack of breast development by the age of 13

Who It Can Affect Both girls and boys Somebody who has a parent who was late in starting puberty Somebody who has an underlying medical condition e.g. diabetes, kidney disease, cystic fibrosis Somebody who is malnourished Girls who are extremely active in sports Somebody who has problems in the pituitary or thyroid glands Somebody who has chromosome disorder

Treatment Hormone therapy - short course (usually a few months) of treatment with hormone medications to get the changes of puberty started Short course of an anabolic steroid increase growth Giving testosterone to boys or a short course of oestrogen to girls - induce puberty Finding Support KidsHealth - http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/changing_body/delayed_puberty.html Boston Childrens Hospital - http://www.childrenshospital.org/health-topics/conditions/delayed-puberty-delayed-sexual-development Australian Paediatric Endocrine Group (APEG) - http://www.apeg.org.au/Portals/0/Resources/Hormones_and_Me_6_Delayed_Puberty.pdf Society of Endocrinology - http://www.yourhormones.info/endocrine_conditions/delayed_puberty.aspx