Researchers from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, conducted a large survey on puberty. They publish two studies which show that the behavior of the mother during her pregnancy can lead to precocious puberty in her child. Among the risk factors: smoking and taking pain medication.
One in five women continues to smoke during pregnancy. However, we know that it can have bad consequences for the baby, such as malformations, growth problems or even hearing disorders.
Researchers from the Danish University ofAarhus, carried out a large survey on puberty. They also discovered that don’t quit smoking during pregnancy can also cause precocious puberty in the child. The results of the study are published in the journal American Journal of Epidemiology.
Puberty three to six months earlier
“We found that children of mothers who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day during pregnancy entered puberty on average three to six months earlier than children born to non-smoking mothers”, explains Nis Brix, researcher who co-directed the study.
A total of 15,819 pregnant women and their children participated in the research. During their pregnancy, the women were asked about their tobacco consumption. Then, their children were followed every six months from the age of eleven. What worries researchers is that this early puberty is associated with a increased risk of certain diseases, as’obesity, the diabetes, the cardiovascular illnesses or even cancer. “We hope that our results can be used as another motivator to quit smoking among women considering pregnancy,” concludes Nis Brix.
Painkillers and precocious puberty in girls
At the same time, researchers at the University of Aarhus carried out another study. The latter shows that the more a woman takes pain medication during her pregnancy, the earlier her daughter enters the puberty. Generally, young girls begin to have breasts, pimples and menstruation around the age of ten or eleven. But if the mother, while she is pregnant, takes paracetamol or painkillers regularly, her daughter enters puberty between a year and a half and three months earlier.
The researchers analyzed a large database on puberty in Denmark. About 100,000 women gave detailed information about their pain medication consumption, three times during their pregnancy. A total of 15,822 children, 7,697 boys and 8,125 girls born to these mothers between 2000 and 2003 were followed, also from the age of eleven. According to the results, the boys did not experience early puberty.
Researchers draw attention to the growing consumption of paracetamol, considered a “safe and harmless choice”. The latter would have increased by 50% in recent years. However, it has already been shown that taking it during pregnancy could also lead to hyperactivity and autism in the child.
.