By Armando Duke

(AXcess News) Houston - A study revealed that puberty among American girls is falling.  Some girls as young as 7 are entering puberty early and American whites and latinos' age may still be dropping, the research revealed.  The initial study was conducted a decade ago.

The latest research appeared in the journal published by the American Acadamy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics, on Sunday.

The study showed that breast development among American girls began at the age of 7, with more than 15% of Latino girles and 10% of white girls experiencing early stages of breast development, marking the onset of puberty.

The original study from 1997 showed at that time that puberty was developing in American girls faster than during the 20th century.

In that study, the rate of girls who had begun puberty at age 7 was, on average, 5% for whites, compared with 10.4% in the new study.

The lead author of the new study Dr. Frank M. Biro was shocked by the results when compared to the decade-ago study, saying he felt their had to be a mistake with the results only to find that wasn't the case.

The study also revealed that compared with early puberty, the odds of violent behavior were approximately threefold higher in midpuberty and late puberty after adjustment for demographic factors.

The puberty study concluded that Pubertal Stage was associated with higher rates of violent behavior and social/relational aggression, with the latter association seen only at younger ages.  The cause of puberty starting earlier in younger age American girls was not known.