PREVALENCE OF SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERISTICS IN A POPULATION OF NORTH-CAROLINA GIRLS AGES 3 TO 10

Little data on the prevalence of secondary sexual characteristics in young children exist despite common assumptions that longitudinal studies such as Marshall and Tanner's1 provided this information. To have a basis on which to compare the development of sexually abused girls, we undertook a cross-sectional prevalence study of 525 girls ages 3-10 from five county health departments and two private practices who presented for a physical examination. Clinicians after training recorded pubertal stages according to Tanner. Although the literature states that less than 1% of girls have breast development or pubic hair prior to age 8, we found a much higher percent: at least 25% of the black girls and 9% of the white girls at age 6 had some breast development or pubic hair. Age-adjusted prevalences of breast and pubic hair development were significantly higher in blacks than in whites. This study suggests the need for a large scale survey beginning at an early age to develop racial norms by age and geographical area.