Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT1643

Background: Childhood obesity is increasing globally and has been linked to early puberty in several epidemiological studies. Low birth weight and subsequent rapid weight gain during infancy and early childhood have been suggested to play a role in this association.

Objectives: We aimed to identify distinct body mass index (BMI) trajectories from birth until 10 years among girls diagnosed with precocious puberty, hypothesizing that specific BMI patterns throughout childhood correlate with pubertal timing.

Methods: We included girls diagnosed with precocious puberty (ICD-10 diagnosis: DE30.1) or central precocious puberty (DE22.8A) as recorded in the Danish National Patient Registry. Data on height and weight for BMI were retrieved from birth and until 10 years, utilizing the Danish Medical Birth Registry and the Children’s Database. Only girls diagnosed between ages 4-9 years and with a minimum of three BMI measurements at ages 0-0.5 years, 0.5-3 years and 3-8 years were included (n = 1874). Data-driven latent class trajectory (LCT) modeling was employed to define distinct BMI trajectories for girls experiencing early puberty.

Results: We identified four distinct BMI trajectories. Class 1 (24.1%) or the “very early accelerating” class experienced a marked infancy peak within normal BMI ranges but an early adiposity rebound from 2.5 years. Class 2 (37.4%) had a BMI trajectory within the normal range. Class 3 (30.4%), or the “early accelerating” class, had an initial BMI trajectory within normal limits but then an early adiposity rebound from four years. Class 4 (8.2%) or the “early peak” class had a low BMI at birth but a steep increase during the first year of life (high infancy peak) and remained overweight according to the World Health Organization’s classification until 10 years of age. Three out of four classes (62.7%) were at risk of overweight from 7 years of age.

Conclusions: The majority of girls with precocious puberty followed a trajectory characterized by early adiposity rebound and overweight from 7 years of age. This study may facilitate the identification of children at risk of precocious puberty.