Treated and untreated women with idiopathic precocious puberty: BMI evolution, metabolic outcome, and general health between third and fifth decades.

CONTEXT

Central precocious puberty (CPP) may have clinical implications in adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence of obesity, metabolic outcome (hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension), and malignancy rate of former CPP women between the third and fifth decades of life.

DESIGN

This was a case control study of a historical cohort using the computerized database of a health management organization.

SETTING

The setting was the Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, and Clalit Health Services.

PARTICIPANTS

The study group comprised of 142 CPP women aged 27-50 years [100 GnRH analog (GnRHa) treated; 42 untreated]. The control group comprised of 413 women randomly matched for age, year of birth, and community clinic (283 for the GnRHa treated; 130 for the untreated).

METHODS

Extracted from the database were demographic data, medical history, medications dispensed, recorded anthropometric measurements, vital signs, and laboratory data.

RESULTS

At young adulthood, body mass index (percentile and distribution) of treated and untreated former CPP women was comparable to that of their respective controls. Elevated body mass index at presentation was a risk factor for obesity in adulthood in the GnRHa-treated group (r = 0.257; P = .01). The prevalence of metabolic comorbidities (16 vs 13.4%; 21.4 vs 24.6%) and malignancy rate (1.0 vs 1.5%; 4.8 vs 1.5%) were similar in the former CPP women and their controls, with no significant difference between CPP groups.

CONCLUSION

CPP (treated or untreated) is not associated with increased risk of obesity, metabolic derangements, or cancer morbidities in young adulthood. The finding that the health status of former CPP women is similar to that of the general population is reassuring.