Abstract
The menarche age has fallen since last century to 1960s or 1970s, related to the improvement in children health. This phenomenon has been known as the secular trend of menarche. However, during the last 30 years, menarche age has remain stable in Chile and European countries. In contrast, thelarche age has fallen during the last 3 decades, becoming frequent that girls younger than 8 years-old have isolate breast development in Chile and worldwide. In boys, there is no convincing evidence of an earlier sexual development. We discuss the etiology of early pubertal development and factors that should be considered to decide an eventual treatment.
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Copyright (c) 2006 Revista Chilena de Pediatría