New clarity on a little‑understood stage of childhood development

Adrenarche—an early, puzzling transition between childhood and adolescence—has long been clouded by inconsistent terminology across pediatrics, endocrinology, and puberty research. A new call for precision aims to change that in a Viewpoint paper by Lauren Houghton, Ph.D., assistant professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health published in JAMA Pediatrics.