title: Interrelationship of extent of precocious adrenarche in appropriate for gestational age girls with clinical outcome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the interrelationship between extent of adrenarche at presentation in girls with precocious adrenarche (PA) born appropriate for gestational age and their growth pattern, pubertal course and adult height.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed clinical and laboratory data from medical charts of 85 girls with PA aged 5.0 to 8.8 years at referral, stratified in 3 subgroups according to bone age (BA) minus chronological age (CA) ≤0 years; 0 <BA minus CA <1 year; BA minus CA >1 year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Extent of pubarche and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate levels were greatest in the BA-CA >1 subgroup (P=.02, P=.008, respectively), who also were taller at diagnosis (P=.002) and during childhood (P=.01). In all subgroups, pubertal onset was within normal range; menarche occurred earlier than in control subjects (P<.02); all attained adult height within their mid-parental height range. Predicted adult height was overestimated in girls with BA ≤CA (P=.04) and underestimated with BA-CA >1 (P<.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although a more pronounced adrenarche and BA advancement at diagnosis in girls with PA born appropriate for gestational age had an impact on their pre-pubertal growth pattern, it was not associated with early and rapid progression of puberty or reduced adult height. This reassuring clinical course indicates that PA is a benign condition, irrespective of the extent of adrenarche at presentation. Adult height prediction is unreliable in PA.
authors: Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petach Tikva, Israel.
authors: Tal
authors: T
authors: Oron
authors: Yael
authors: Y
authors: Lebenthal
authors: Liat
authors: L
authors: de Vries
authors: Michal
authors: M
authors: Yackobovitch-Gavan
authors: Moshe
authors: M
authors: Phillip
authors: Liora
authors: L
authors: Lazar
mesh_terms: D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000254:growth & development*; D050499:Adrenarche / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D001846:Bone Development / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy