While the cause of girls' precocious puberty during the pandemic cannot yet be definitively identified, it is an increase that should be taken seriously as the young population becomes increasingly dependent on personalized digital technology. Statistically, most of us experience the joys and tribulations of puberty from the age of 12.
Faradid _ In their studies, researchers have identified an increase in the number of these girls in the early months of the epidemic, which indicates the existence of a potential connection between the virus and a trigger for early puberty.
According to Faradid , according to a study conducted at the 60th annual meeting of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology in Rome, the increase in precocious puberty in girls may have nothing to do with infection, but perhaps the hours of time spent in home quarantine with electronic devices. Smart is to blame for this problem.
Researchers from Gazi University and Ankara City Hospital in Turkey exposed 18 immature female mice to the light spectrum that was mainly emitted from LED screens on a daily basis and for relatively short or long periods of time. They found that the signs of puberty appeared earlier in the mice exposed to blue light for a longer period of time than the rest of the mice.
Aylin Kilinç Uğurlu from Ghazi University, the lead author of this study and an endocrinologist, says: "We found that exposure to blue light is sufficient to change melatonin levels, and it is also able to change the levels of reproductive hormones and cause premature puberty in laboratory mice. Additionally, the higher the exposure, the greater the onset of precocious puberty."
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| The reason for the increase in early puberty of girls during the epidemic |
While the cause of girls' precocious puberty during the pandemic cannot yet be definitively identified, it is an increase that should be taken seriously as the young population becomes increasingly dependent on personalized digital technology. Statistically, most of us experience the joys and tribulations of puberty from the age of 12. Precocious puberty for girls is defined as the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before the age of eight. It is not possible to say with certainty how many girls experience precocious puberty, as prevalence rates vary considerably around the world.
The reasons for the early increase in hormones are also vague and complex. If we ignore the various forms of cancer or other disorders of the nervous system, a significant proportion of the statistics are without a clear reason; So when the number of girls reporting an unexplained form of precocious puberty in Turkey rose from 25 in April 2019 to 58 in March 2010, researchers were confused and thought of anything as a reason. From high-calorie foods to the fear of the epidemic.
One of the interesting possibilities is the sharp increase in the use of smart devices, or to be more precise, the dramatic increase in the time spent daily exposed to the blue light emitted by phones and tablets.
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| The reason for the increase in premature puberty during the epidemic period |
Evolution has shaped our human bodies in such a way that we interpret the blue light of the day as the main time of awakening and the dim light of dawn, dusk and night as the ideal time for rest. This relationship is so institutionalized in our functioning that any serious disturbance in this pattern can have a profound effect on our health, and most likely this disturbance is caused by a hormone called melatonin. Although this hormone is generally thought of as a chemical that helps us sleep at night, its inhibition during a critical time of development sends a message to the body that it's time to ramp up puberty hormones.
Using mice as a more convenient subject for testing, the team of researchers showed that this hypothesis has more meaning. Not only did mice exposed to daily blue light reach their adult rodent counterparts earlier than their counterparts, but they also had lower levels of melatonin and higher levels of the reproductive signaling chemicals estradiol (one of the main sex hormones in women) and luteinizing hormone (influential in the growth and maturation of the sex organs). and have secondary sexual characteristics). This finding does not mean that other factors cannot play an important role. The biology of puberty is incredibly complex, leaving a lot of room for shaping the timeline of puberty in humans.
"Since this study was conducted on mice, we cannot say with certainty that these findings will be replicated in experiments on children, but the data we have obtained so far suggests that exposure to blue light can considered a risk factor for the onset of precocious puberty.
Source: sciencealert website
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