Puberty at 7 or 8 years of age and Phthalates
Published: 25 October 2006
Category: Hormonal Changes, Phthalates
This article speaks of the increased rates of children developing sexual characteristics at too young of an age, younger than 8 in girls and 9 in boys, and even 2 ½ years of age. According to the article, University of Louisville physicians call the condition “precocious puberty” and say that the condition is “six times more common in girls than boys.” The article continues by citing a study published in the journal of Pediatrics in 1997, which found that out of 17,077 girls, 27 percent of African-American girls and 7 percent of white girls had precocious puberty. Researchers are reportedly looking at the link between plastics byproducts called phthalates and other chemicals and this condition.