Physiological Peculiarities of Puberty Period of Adolescents Whose Mothers Were Under High Risk of Terroristic Attack

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The importance of the study is determined by increasing instability of the society and involvement of civilian population in military conflicts. AIM: To determine peculiarities of sexual development of adolescents whose mothers experienced life-threatening stress in the period preceding pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To evaluate the evidence of the secondary sexual signs, hormonal status, anthropometric data and immunity parameters, 2,980 medical records and data of preventive examinations of schoolchildren of the Republic of Dagestan were analyzed. The observation group included 1,416 schoolchildren whose mothers experienced a life-threatening mental trauma, and the control group included 1,564 adolescents whose mothers did not face life-threatening situations. RESULTS: The data of a comparative analysis of the regulation of physiological development of sons of women who suffered a life-threatening mental trauma, show multidirectional changes in the concentration of gonadotropic hormones with higher concentrations of estrogens, low levels of androgens, manifested by retardation of the formation of secondary sexual signs, reduced physical strength and endurance in puberty in comparison with boys of the control group. Daughters of mothers who experienced a life-threatening stress, in contrast to girls of the control group, were characterized in puberty by higher levels of luteinizing, follicle-stimulating hormones, earlier development of mammary glands and growth of pubic hair. At the same time, in transition from the prepubertal to pubertal period, these girls were characterized by earlier reduction of the activity of adrenal cortex in these girls, early menarche in the pubertal period and retardation of stabilization of the menstrual cycle rhythm. CONCLUSION: The adolescents being the offspring of women, who experienced a psychogenic life-threatening trauma, are characterized by disorders in physiologic maturation: boys by retardation, girls by acceleration and disharmony of the pubertal development.