Researchers from Public Health France conducted a “descriptive survey” between 2011 and 2013, on the incidence of precocious puberty (appearance of pubic hair, breasts that grow, testicles that grow) in women. girls under 8 and boys under 9 years old. During this period, scientists counted 3,519 new cases in girls (or 1,173 per year) and in boys 117 new cases per year.
The study also shows that it is in Midi-Pyrénées and Rhones-Alpes that the cases are most frequent. “There is a real spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of cases, more frequent in the South than in the North” emphasizes Joëlle le Moal, epidemiologist at Public Health France. In these two regions, cases of precocious puberty would be 12 more frequent than elsewhere in girls and 6 times more in boys.
Exposure to endocrine disruptors considered plausible
These regional differences could in part be explained by exposure to certain endocrine disruptors such as pesticides or certain emissions from industrial sites. This link between endocrine disruptors, these chemicals present in everyday products and likely to modify the hormonal system, and precocious puberty is indeed increasingly suspected by the World Health Organization (WHO).
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