Five-year-old girl who got her period at age four to soon go through menopause

(Representational image)

New Delhi: Hitting puberty marks the beginning of the menstrual cycle in normal cases, but for an Australian girl, menstruation began when she turned four.

Emily Dover, reports Mirror Online, suffers from Addison's disease and has grown pubic hair, breasts and suffers from acne and body odour – something that is characteristic of girls who are going through puberty.

Emily will soon start exhibiting signs of menopause because of the abnormal onset of her menstrual cycle.

According to Emily's mother Tam Dover, the child is extremely conscious of her body and is aware that she is different than other girls her age, Mirror Online said.

While, Dover was born a healthy baby, she soon began growing rapidly and by the age of two had developed breasts and acne and was diagnosed with Addison's at the age of four, after years of tests and analysis.

A rare disorder of the adrenal glands, Emily’s condition means that she is deficient in two key hormones: cortisol and aldosterone.

While it affects adults above the age of 30, it is rare when it affects children and can trigger early puberty and the necessary hormone treatment will stimulate symptoms of menopause.

Emily is also on the autism spectrum and suffers from anxiety disorder, a common symptom of patients suffering from Addison's.