Psychological effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment in girls with central precocious puberty

Abstract

Objective: This study was done to evaluate the emotional and behavioral status of precocious puberty patients and analyze the effect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) treatment. Methods: Sixty-six female precocious puberty patients were enrolled prospectively for the study at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital of Hallym University Medical Center from September 2011 to December 2012 and self-administered questionnaire was completed during the GnRHa treatment initiation period and after 12 months from the first injection. The patients were evaluated using the Korean version of Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL) and Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Results: A total of 30.3% (n = 20) of the patients scored within the clinical range for one or more scales of K-CBCL at the initiation of GnRHa treatment, but only 10.6% (seven patients) were within the clinical range after 1 year of treatment. Average CDI scores of the patients decreased from baseline 6.5 +/- 6.0 to 4.9 +/- 4.7 after GnRHa therapy. Conclusions: This study shows that both K-CBCL and CDI scores improved from baseline score ranges after 1 year of GnRHa treatment in female central precocious puberty patients while significant psychological problems of clinical range amongst them were not noted.