Hello doctor, I am a 15-year-old boy. I have questions regarding my hormones and my puberty. I am scared that I feel as if I may have been through precocious puberty as I have had a beard since I was a late 13 years old. Will I be able to grow still taller, and is there any way my hormones can be regulated and have I finished puberty?
Hello. Precocious puberty can be called when the onset of puberty is eight years or below for girls and nine years or below for boys. The beginning is not synonymous with a growing beard, which is a more advanced stage. Staging is usually done with a scoring system called tanner staging which considers pubic hair, testicular and penile development. You should note the first changes in these aspects. Females can grow until the mean age of 16, males for a period three to five years longer. The ethnic, familial, nutritional background is important for final height and pubertal development. As long bones, especially those of the lower limbs, are important to give the height, radiograph of ossification centers like those around knees can be taken. If all the centers are ossified, you are not likely to grow taller. As you are turning 16, it would not be appropriate to suppress your puberty which could be done at a younger age by GnRH analogs or a few alternative agents. I hope you got guidance.