Evolutionary Medicine and puberty

Abstract

The hystorical changes in the ontogenetic pattern that has occurred in the human species are translated today in a global decrease of the age of puberty, particularly in those societies which lived under severe survival conditions during long periods of time. This progressive decrease is a reflection of the biosocial changes characterised by decreased mortality rates resulting from improved levels of nutrition, health and family care. This phenomena is analyzed under the conceptual frame of Evolutionary Medicine, an emergent field that considers, for instance, the disociation between the present conditions of human populations with those which were predominant during human evolution since the Paleolithic era. The medical consequences of early puberty such as an increase in the period of fertility and consequent increase to oestrogens could increase the risks of cancer in modern women, as well as cardiovascular and renal disease.