Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Age at menarche and related events at puberty

Thirty-three children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia in whom treatment with glucocorticoids began before the age of 2 years were evaluated for age at menarche and related events at puberty. Eleven of these children had passed the menarche at the time of this study. Of the 22 not yet menstruating, 4 had passed their sixteenth birthday. Standard Life Table statistical analysis projected a delay in menarcheal age for the entire group. Though development of secondary sexual characteristics in general occurred normally, the group tended to be shorter than average and bone age was delayed in many of those in whom the menarche was delayed. Vicissitudes of therapy may be responsible for the alterations in linear growth, skeletal age, and delayed menarche.