The COPENHAGEN School Study Normal Pubertal Development in Youth 2021 and Long-term Disease and Death Risk After Extremely Early Puberty

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying healthy Danish school children to investigate whether the age at which puberty starts has continued to decline over the past 15 years. The study also aims to understand the causes of earlier puberty onset and examine the long-term health risks linked to extremely early puberty using national registry data. This combined cross-sectional and longitudinal study includes children aged 5 to 19 years. In the cross-sectional part, children will be examined once through clinical assessments that include height, weight, body fat, blood pressure, and puberty stage evaluations based on Tanner criteria. Blood and urine samples will be collected to measure various hormones, growth factors, endocrine disruptors, and genetic material. Additionally, children will complete electronic questionnaires about their growth, health, lifestyle, and family puberty history. The biological samples will be temporarily stored until July 2026, after which unused samples will be stored long term in a biobank. The longitudinal part of the study will use registry data to follow children diagnosed with extremely early puberty and matched controls over up to 20 years. Researchers will analyze the risk of disease and death in these groups, adjusting for factors like maternal health and birth measurements. During the study, participants will undergo clinical exams, sample collection, and complete questionnaires. The main outcomes measured are pubertal development over eight years and long-term health risks after early puberty.

The 3rd COPENHAGEN Puberty Study