Puberty is a time of intense reorganization of brain structure and a high-risk period for the onset of mental health problems, with variations in pubertal timing and tempo intensifying this risk. We conducted 2 systematic reviews of articles published up to February 1, 2024, focusing on 1) the role of brain structure in the relationship between puberty and mental health, and 2) precision psychiatry research evaluating the utility of puberty in making individualized predictions of mental health outcomes in young people. The first review provides inconsistent evidence about whether and how pubertal and psychopathological processes may interact in relation to brain development. While most studies found an association between early puberty and mental health difficulties in adolescents, evidence on whether brain structure mediates this relationship is mixed. The pituitary gland was found to be associated with mental health status during this time, possibly through its central role in regulating puberty and its function in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axes. In the second review, the design of studies that have explored puberty in predictive models did not allow for a quantification of its predictive power. However, when puberty was evaluated through physically observable characteristics rather than hormonal measures, it was more commonly identified as a predictor of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in adolescence. Social processes may be more relevant than biological ones to the link between puberty and mental health problems and represent an important target for educational strategies.

中文翻译：

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青春期与大脑结构发育之间的动态相互作用作为青春期心理健康困难的预测因素：系统评价


青春期是大脑结构剧烈重组的时期，也是心理健康问题发作的高风险期，青春期时间和节奏的变化加剧了这种风险。我们对截至 2024 年 2 月 1 日发表的文章进行了 2 次系统评价，重点是 1） 大脑结构在青春期与心理健康之间关系中的作用，以及 2） 精准精神病学研究，评估青春期在对年轻人心理健康结果进行个体化预测中的效用。第一篇综述提供了关于青春期和精神病理学过程是否以及如何与大脑发育相互作用的不一致证据。虽然大多数研究发现青春期提前与青少年的心理健康困难之间存在关联，但关于大脑结构是否介导这种关系的证据喜忧参半。发现垂体与这段时间的心理健康状况有关，可能是通过其在调节青春期的核心作用及其在下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴中的功能。在第二篇综述中，在预测模型中探索青春期的研究设计不允许量化其预测能力。然而，当通过身体上可观察到的特征而不是荷尔蒙测量来评估青春期时，它更常被确定为青春期抑郁、焦虑和自杀倾向的预测指标。社会过程可能比生物学过程更与青春期和心理健康问题之间的联系相关，并且是教育策略的重要目标。