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Fu D, Li T, Zhang Y, Wang H, Wu X, Chen Y, Cao B, Wei H. Analysis of the Incidence and Risk Factors of Precocious Puberty in Girls during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Endocrinol 2022; 2022:9229153. [PMID: 36213197 PMCID: PMC9534639 DOI: 10.1155/2022/9229153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Home quarantine due to the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on children. Lifestyle changes have led to an increase in precocious puberty (PP) among girls, and the underlying risk factors for this remain unclear. Thus, we aimed to assess the influence of environmental, genetic, nutritional, and other lifestyle factors on the risk of PP in girls. We evaluated the incidence of new-onset PP in girls during home quarantine for COVID-19 and analyzed the potential risk factors. This was a retrospective questionnaire and medical record-based study involving 22 representative medical units from 13 cities in Henan Province, China. Girls with new-onset PP (central precocious puberty, 58; premature thelarche, 58; age, 5-9 years) between February 2020 and May 2020 were included, along with 124 healthy, age-matched controls. The number of new-onset PP cases reported during the study period was compared with that reported between February and May in 2018 and 2019. Patients' families completed a questionnaire to assess potential risk factors. There was a 5.01- and 3.14-fold increase in the number of new-onset PP cases from 2018 to 2020 and from 2019 to 2020, respectively; the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.01). High-risk factors for PP included longer time spent using electronic devices, decreased exercise time, higher body mass index, vitamin D deficiency, young age (<12 years) of mother during menarche, consumption of fried food and processed meat, residence in rural areas, and consumption of off-season fruits. Thus, we found that lifestyle changes caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in PP in girls. Management of the risk factors identified in this study may help in PP prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongxia Fu
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
| | - Tao Li
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
| | - Yingxian Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
| | - Huizhen Wang
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
| | - Xue Wu
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
| | - Yongxing Chen
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
| | - Bingyan Cao
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing 100000, China
| | - Haiyan Wei
- Department of Endocrinology and Inborn Error of Metabolism, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Henan Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan 450000, China
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Jeon GH, Lee SH, Cheon YP, Choi D. Blood-Testis Barrier and Sperm Delayed in the Cauda Epididymis of the Reproductively Regressed Syrian Hamsters. Dev Reprod 2021; 25:1-14. [PMID: 33977170 PMCID: PMC8087257 DOI: 10.12717/dr.2021.25.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The Syrian (golden) hamsters are seasonal breeders whose reproductive functions
are active in summer and inactive in winter. In experimental facility mimicking
winter climate, short photoperiod (SP) induces gonadal regression. The
blood-testis barrier (BTB) of the sexually involuted animals have been reported
to be permeable, allowing developing germ cells to be engulfed or sloughed off
the epithelium of the seminiferous tubules. The expressions of genes related to
the tight junction composing of BTB were investigated in the reproductive active
and inactive testes. Claudin-11, occludin, and junctional adhesion molecule
(JAM) were definitely expressed in the active testes but not discernably
detected in the inactive testes. And spermatozoa (sperm) were observed in the
whole lengths of epididymides in the active testes. They were witnessed in only
cauda region of the epididymides but not in caput and corpus regions in animals
with the inactive testes. The results imply that the disorganization of BTB is
associated with the testicular regression. The developing germ cells are
swallowed into the Sertoli cells or travel into the lumen, as supported by the
presence of the sperm delayed in the last region of the epididymis. These
outcomes suggest that both apoptosis and desquamation are the processes that
eliminate the germ cells during the regressing stage in the Syrian hamsters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geon Hyung Jeon
- Dept. of Life Science, College of Public Health and Welfare Sciences, Yong-In University, Yongin 17092, Korea
| | - Sung-Ho Lee
- Dept. of Biotechnology, Sangmyung University, Seoul 03016, Korea
| | - Yong-Pil Cheon
- Division of Developmental Biology and Physiology, Dept. of Biotechnology, Sungshin University, Seoul 02844, Korea
| | - Donchan Choi
- Dept. of Life Science, College of Public Health and Welfare Sciences, Yong-In University, Yongin 17092, Korea
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