A study from Turkey found a direct relationship between blue light exposure and early puberty.
Blue light from LEDs has been linked to precocious puberty. Blue light from electronic devices could contribute to precocious puberty. Whereas previously, humans were mostly exposed to blue light from the sun, these days, we receive blue light exposure at night from our various electronic devices.
This exposure might inhibit the production of melatonin, which could then lead to precocious puberty.
This article highlights it as one of the factors for increased reports of precocious puberty during the lockdowns for the pandemic.
The study
To examine if the rise in reports of precocious puberty has links to the elevated use of blue light emitting devices during the period, researchers from Ankara Bilkent City Hospital and Gazi University in Turkey analyzed the effect of blue light exposure on the testicular tissue of young male rats.
In the study, published in the Frontiers in Endocrinology journal, researchers examined 18 female mice after dividing them into three equal groups:
a control group,
a group with exposure to blue light for six hours,
and a group with blue light exposure for 12 hours.
Blue light triggered signs of early onset puberty
The researchers found these biological changes: reduced melatonin levels, elevated reproductive hormones (estradiol and luteinizing hormone) and physical changes in the ovarian tissues of the rats exposed to blue light, indicating an early onset of puberty.
Those rats exposed to blue light for 12 hours showed signs of cell damage and inflammation in their ovaries.
This study adds to the researchers’ previous work on female rats, which also showed similar effects.
Blue light kills melatonin levels
A study presented on September 16 at the 60th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting found exposure to blue light to be associated with decreased levels of melatonin, increased levels of two major reproductive hormones (estradiol and luteinizing hormone), and changes in ovarian tissue that may be indicative of early onset of puberty in females.
In fact, changes occurred even after just six hours of exposure to blue light, which is really not that long. How many of us sit inside LED-lit offices and schools for hours daily?
What is blue light?
Blue light has the shortest wavelength and highest energy in the light spectrum. The strong energy of blue light is what allows it to pass easily through the cornea and lens of our eyes.
Blue light, especially the higher energy visible light from digital devices, has been increasingly recognised as hazardous over the past decade.
While some blue light exposure is inevitable with digital lifestyles, research is growing to show how it is harming our health, from damage to the eyes and disruption to healthy circadian rhythms and hormones.
How blue light affects our biological processes is becoming an increasingly important health issue as humans are exposed to more blue-enriched LED illumination for most of the day, or even at night due to shift work and light pollution in large cities.
Did the pandemic accelerate precocious puberty?
During the pandemic, rates of precocious puberty increased in many countries, sometimes by three-fold. Researchers identified possible reasons for the phenomenon, including sedentary indoor lifestyles.[3]
References
https://www.medicaldaily.com/exposure-blue-light-smartphones-tablets-may-trigger-early-onset-puberty-470876