Pubertal Maturation Compression and Behavioral Impulsivity among Boys at Increased Risk for Substance Use

The tempo of puberty and its relationship to adolescent health and well-being: A systematic review

AIM

Emerging evidence suggests that pubertal tempo, that is rate of passage through puberty, has relevance to adolescent mood and behaviour. However, its wider health and developmental significance remain unclear. This systematic review sought to clarify the relationship of pubertal tempo to indicators of health and development, and to document tempo definitions and pubertal durations reported in the literature.

METHODS

Eight electronic databases were searched from earliest record to July 2018. Study eligibility: healthy participants; age 8-21 years; ≥2 longitudinal measures of puberty; analysis of tempo against a health or developmental indicator.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight studies met eligibility, and these reported on diverse tempo definitions and seven health- and development-related domains. Data sets with varying tempo definitions converged on an association of rapid pubertal progression to: (a) higher adiposity during childhood and adolescence in both sexes; and (b) lower psychosocial well-being in adolescent males. Later thelarche unanimously predicted faster progression to menarche in females, but this compensation was largely undetected when alternate definitions of pubertal timing and/or tempo were used. Duration of puberty ranged from 2.5-4.1 years.

CONCLUSION

Pubertal tempo may be clinically relevant when considering trajectories of adiposity and psychosocial well-being among adolescents, especially males. Consensus on the definition of tempo would facilitate between-study comparisons.

Correspondence of Pubertal Neuroendocrine and Tanner Stage Changes in Boys and Associations With Substance Use

This study examined correspondence between timing (onset) and tempo (rate) of sexual maturation prospectively (average ages 11-16 years) measured by gonadal hormones and secondary sex characteristics (Tanner stage) using dual-process models, and associations of these measures with substance use (SU) involvement in boys at age 16 years (N = 534, 77.5% White/22.5% Non-White). All measures of timing were highly associated. Early Tanner stage timing often predicted slower increases in gonadal steroids, but not the reverse; patterns varied by ethnicity. Hormone and Tanner stage measures were similar earlier in development but diverged later in development. In White boys only, early timing of the pubertal rise in testosterone was associated with increased SU involvement, suggesting a physiological rather than psychosocial mechanism of association.