Manifestations of autonomic dysfunction in girls aged 6–17 years with consideration of the features of their sexual development

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18370/2309-4117.2026.83.55-61

Keywords:

autonomic dysfunction, sexual development disorder, girls aged 6–17 years

Abstract

Objective of the study: to investigate the manifestations of autonomic dysfunction in girls aged 6 to 17 years with physiological or disordered pubertal development.
Materials and methods. A total of 550 girls aged 6–17 years were examined. The participants were divided into three groups: Group I – 6–7 years, Group II – 8–12 years, Group III – 13–17 years. Clinical assessment of pubertal development was performed using the Tanner scale. The presence of pubertal development disorders and clinical signs of somatoform autonomic dysfunction, as well as their combinations, were analyzed.
Results. The prevalence of manifestations of somatoform autonomic dysfunction across different age groups was 72.2%. It was found that the prevalence of autonomic disorders increased with age: 3.5% in the 6–7 years group, 32.5% in the 8–12 years group, and 64% in the 13–17 years group. A considerable number of girls demonstrated a combination of symptoms forming different autonomic symptom complexes. The prevalence of autonomic dysfunction manifestations was higher in the 8–12 years group (87.4%) and the 13–17 years group (95.7%) compared to the 6–7 years group (31.1%), i.e., among girls who are already in the pubertal period, which confirms the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. In girls aged 6–7 years, only one autonomic dysfunction syndrome was identified. In the 8–12 years group, 27 (20.9%) patients had a combination of two syndromes, and 12 (9.3%) had three syndromes; in the 13–17 years group, 110 (43.3%) patients had a combination of two syndromes, and 16 (6.3%) had three syndromes.
Conclusions. Іn girls with impaired timing or sequence of the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics, autonomic disorders were more frequent (90.3%) in the 8–12 years group compared to girls in the 6–7 years group, which may be associated with the synergistic regulation of the autonomic and endocrine systems and activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis in girls older than 8 years. This indicates that this age period represents a risk period for the development of autonomic disorders. The overlap syndrome, in which different autonomic disorders coexist, emerges during puberty and its prevalence increases with age.

Author Biographies

L.A. Lutsenko, SI «Ukrainian Center of Maternity and Childhood of the NAMS of Ukraine», Kyiv

PhD, senior researcher, Department of Endocrine Gynecology

L.V. Kvashnina, SI «Ukrainian Center of Maternity and Childhood of the NAMS of Ukraine», Kyiv

DSc, professor, head of the Scientific and Practical Group of Stress-Associated Disorders and Premorbid Conditions in Children

T.B. Ignatova, SI «Ukrainian Center of Maternity and Childhood of the NAMS of Ukraine», Kyiv

PhD, senior researcher, Scientific and Practical Group of Stress-Associated Disorders and Premorbid Conditions in Children

I.S. Maidan, SI «Ukrainian Center of Maternity and Childhood of the NAMS of Ukraine», Kyiv

PhD, junior researcher, Scientific and Practical Group of Stress-Associated Disorders and Premorbid Conditions in Children

N.Y. Bondarenko, O.O. Bogomolets National Medical University, Kyiv

PhD, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics No. 1

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Published

2026-05-14

How to Cite

Lutsenko, L., Kvashnina, L., Ignatova, T., Maidan, I., & Bondarenko, N. (2026). Manifestations of autonomic dysfunction in girls aged 6–17 years with consideration of the features of their sexual development. REPRODUCTIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY, (83), 55–61. https://doi.org/10.18370/2309-4117.2026.83.55-61

Issue

No. 83 (2026)

Section

Gynecology

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