Thimerosal Exposure & Increasing Trends of Premature Puberty in the Vaccine Safety Datalink (Report‪)‬

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimate the historical incidence of premature puberty in the general population to be about one in 10,000 children (1). Premature puberty is characterized by sexual development before the age of eight in girls, and age 10 in boys. While the early onset of puberty may seem fairly benign, in fact, it can cause problems when hormones trigger changes in the growth pattern, essentially halting growth before the child has reached normal adult height. Further, children with this condition look noticeably different than their peers, and may feel rejected by their friends and socially isolated. Adults may expect these children to act more maturely simply because they look so much older. Many of these children, especially boys, are much more aggressive than others of their own age, leading to behaviour problems both at home and at school. During the past decade, possible advancement in timing of puberty has been reported in the US. Potential explanations for this increasing trend such as ethnic, geographical, and socio-economic backgrounds appear to provide equivocal explanations for the earlier onset of puberty seen in the US. Recently, attention has been paid to the possible role of endocrine-disrupting chemicals from the environment on the timing of puberty (2). A recent review published on the possible relationships between today's epidemics in children and environmental pollution called for immediate research on the relationship between environmental endocrine disrupters and premature puberty (3).