IMPE Abstracts

Introduction: A significant increase in the incidence of precocious puberty secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic has been demonstrated worldwide. This phenomenon appears to be related to lifestyle changes forced by confinement.

Objective: To perform a retrospective evaluation of newly diagnosed idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) during and after COVID-19 confinement at the National Institute of Pediatrics (NIP), comparing with 4 previous years and to determine whether body mass index (BMI), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-hip ratio (WHR), screen hours, sleep hours and physical activity correlate as possible triggers.

Methods: A retrospective evaluation of the incidence of newly diagnosed PPCI in the Endocrinology service of the INP from January 2016 to May 2022 was performed. The population was divided into two groups, from the time of onset of thelarche or gonadarche:

1. Pre-pandemic: January 2016 to February 2020.

2. Pandemic: March 2020 to May 2022.

Auxological, clinical, endocrinological, radiological and lifestyle habits data were collected in all patients. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 25.0. The association between qualitative variables was determined by Chi square test. U Mann-Whitney test was used to establish the statistical association between qualitative dichotomous and quantitative variables of non parametric distribution. T Student test was used for quantitative variables of parametric distribution. A value of P< 0,05 was considered significant.

Results: Thirty-eight patients were diagnosed with ICPP (Pandemic), 36 females (94.5%) and 2 males (5.5%) vs. 19 patients (Prepandemic), 17 females (89.48%) and 2 males (10.52%) being significantly higher than previous years (P< 0.001). The age at onset was statistically higher in the Pandemic group (6,23 vs. 6,74; p 0,015). The differences between the Prepandemic vs Pandemic groups were respectively: physical activity (37% vs 21%; p 0,411), BMI SDS (0,56 vs 0,67; p 0,559), WHR (0,90 vs. 1,17; p 0,015), WHtR (0.41 vs. 0.52; p 0,006), hours of sleep (8,41 vs. 10,26; P<0,001) and screen hours (2,06 vs. 8,26; P<0,001).

Conclusions: Our data show an increased incidence of newly diagnosed ICPP during and after lockdown compared to previous years. Physical activity and BMI were not significant. The increase in WHtR and WHR, screen and sleep hours in the Pandemic group were found to be significant and should be further studied as possible triggers.