[Idiopathic central precocious puberty in girls in Bahia, Brazil]

Although the therapeutic effects of GnRH analogues (GnRHa) in central precocious puberty (CPP) have been established, clinical aspects may vary according to racial groups.

To describe the profile of 175 girls from Bahia, Brazil, treated with GnRHa for idiopathic CPP.

The mulatto racial group predominated in the sample. The chronological age at puberty was 6.3 +/- 0.1 years. At diagnosis, height was 2.2 +/- 0.1 SD and body mass index (BMI) was 1.5 +/- 0.1 SD (> 2 SD in 32%), this one, inversely associated with age at onset of puberty (R = -0.20, p = 0.008). At treatment, chronological and bone ages were 8.4 +/- 0.1 years and 10.3 +/- 0.1 years, respectively. At the end of treatment (n = 52) age, BMI and height were 10.6 +/- 0.1 years, 1.6 +/- 0.2 SD and 1.9 +/- 0.2 SD, respectively.

Clinical presentation and evolution were similar to other studies, independently of racial characteristics. In this sample, treatment with GnRHa was not associated to significant weight gain.