Delayed puberty

Overall outlook relates to the underlying cause of delayed puberty rather than to the delay itself.

Patients with a temporary delay such as those with constitutional delay in puberty have an excellent prognosis and achieve normal gonadal function postpuberty without testosterone (or estrogen) replacement therapy.

Similarly, patients with a chronic illness, malnutrition, or intense exercise typically recover normal gonadal function after resolution of the illness or exercise.

Patients with a permanent cause such as organic gonadotropin deficiency, Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, or previous pituitary surgery for a craniopharyngioma require lifelong hormone therapy.