In
medicine,
precocious puberty is
puberty occurring at an unusually early age. In most cases, the process is normal in every aspect except the unusually early age, and simply represents a
variation of
normal development. In a minority of children, the early development is triggered by a disease such as a
tumor or
injury of the
brain. Even when there is no disease, unusually early puberty can have adverse effects on social behavior and psychological development, can reduce adult
height potential, and may shift some lifelong health risks. Central precocious puberty can be treated by suppressing the
pituitary hormones that induce
sex steroid production.