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Home > Health Information > Children's Health > Diabetes  Printer Friendly Page Printable Version

Problems in Puberty

Puberty is the time of a person's life when his/her body changes from child to adult, accompanied by the process of sexual maturation. Puberty is caused by changes in hormones and includes both physical and emotional growth. In addition, with the onset of puberty, the secondary sexual characteristics begin to develop, such as pubic hair, breasts in girls, and a deepening of the voice in boys. On average, puberty begins in girls between the ages of nine and 16 and in boys between the ages of 13 and 15.

Sometimes, puberty may occur earlier or later than usual. In addition, certain tumors that grow on the reproductive organs, such as the ovaries, can stimulate the early secretion of estrogen (female sex hormone) or androgen (male sex hormone), causing early outward appearances of puberty.

Problems with puberty require the clinical care of a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below are some problems associated with puberty, for which we have provided a brief overview.

If you cannot find the information in which you are interested, please visit the Diabetes & Other Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders Online Resources page in this Web site for an Internet/World Wide Web address that may contain additional information on that topic.

Precocious Puberty (Early Puberty)

Gonadotropin-Independent Precocious Puberty

Delayed Puberty

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Anatomy of the Endocrine System

Growth in Children

Diabetes

Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)

Hypoglycemia in the Newborn

Problems in Puberty

Ambiguous Genitalia

Disorders Affecting the Thyroid

Disorders Affecting the Pituitary Gland

Disorders Affecting Calcium Metabolism

Disorders Affecting the Adrenal Glands

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