Incidence study of precocious puberty in the population of the state of Goiás: did the COVID-19 pandemic modify the epidemiology?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence and epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of Central Precocious Puberty (CPP) before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic in Goiás, Brazil. METHOD: This retrospective, longitudinal, observational study with a quantitative approach was conducted in Goiás using administrative records of high-cost medication dispensing. All patients registered in the state dispensing center who initiated treatment between 2018 and 2023 were included. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM Corporation, Armonk, USA), version 26.0. Statistical significance was set at 5% (p < 0.05). RESULTS: A total of 910 CPP treatment requests were evaluated, including 153 before the pandemic, 390 during 2020-2021, and 367 during 2022-2023. This corresponded to increases of 154% and 140% during the pandemic and post-pandemic periods, respectively (p < 0.001). From 2020 onward, patients started gonadotropin-releasing hormone analog therapy at younger ages (104.84 ± 12.52 vs. 107.17 ± 13.42 months; p = 0.027), but showed more advanced pubertal development, with higher Tanner stages (B/G stage 4: 15.9% and 21.4% vs. 8.6%; p = 0.035) and higher stimulated LH levels (22.39 ± 16.81 and 24.64 ± 22.13 vs. 19.87 ± 18.08 mIU/mL; p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: CPP incidence increased significantly in Goiás during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients also presented more advanced clinical and laboratory features than those diagnosed before the pandemic.