A recent study published in JAMA Dermatology has evaluated the relationship between precocious puberty and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in pediatric patients.
Drawing on data from the Explorys databases, the study aimed to investigate the association between precocious puberty and HS. It included patients aged 8 to 18 years who had at least one medical encounter and 12 months of observable person-time from March 2017 to February 2020.
A total of 1,605 patients with HS were analyzed, with a median age of 17 years. The majority were girls, accounting for 81.9% of the group. The control group, comprising 180,933 patients, had a median age of 13 years, and 49.5% were girls.
The findings revealed that 2.5% of patients with HS were diagnosed with precocious puberty, compared to 1.2% in the control group.
Additional analysis of patient characteristics showed that 87.5% of patients with HS and precocious puberty were girls, compared to 49.5% of the control group. Furthermore, 65.5% of patients with HS and precocious puberty were found to be obese, compared to 58.9% of all HS patients and 23.4% of the control group. When assessing race and ethnicity, 56.7% of patients with HS and precocious puberty were Black, compared to 33.4% of all HS patients and 13.0% of the control group. White patients made up 43.3% of those with HS and precocious puberty, compared to 56.4% of HS patients and 74.2% of the control group.
The researchers in this study concluded that, “Pediatric patients with precocious puberty had approximately twice the odds of HS, independent of demographic characteristics and body mass index. Further exploration of the role of sex hormones and their dysregulation in the pathogenesis of HS is needed.”
For more resources on hidradenitis suppurativa, consider tuning in to our podcast, Targeted Intervention for Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Defining Window of Opportunity for Moderate-to-Severe Patients, led by experts Hadar Avihai Lev-Tov, MD MAS, and Jennifer L. Hsiao, MD.
