Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between physical symptoms and pubertal status and timing in adolescents.
Method: This descriptive study was based on cross-sectional analysis of survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health including a school-based sample of more than 20,000 adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Self-reported physical symptoms during the past 12 months were examined. Pubertal development was measured as pubertal status (early, mid, and advanced pubertal) and timing (early timing, on time, and late timing).
Results: Headaches and musculoskeletal pains were the most commonly reported symptoms among advanced pubertal status respondents. Headache was more prominent among girls; among boys, musculoskeletal complaints were predominant. For both sexes, on-time developers were less likely to report physical symptoms when compared with the two off-timing groups. Among girls, pubertal status and timing were more closely associated with various types of symptoms.
Discussion: This study underscores the importance of both the objective signs of pubertal changes and youngsters' own perception of their pubertal changes in assessing and addressing physical symptoms.