Association between Dietary Patterns and Precocious Puberty in Children: A Population-Based Study

Abstract

Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between dietary patterns and precocious puberty among Shanghai children. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among Shanghai children by multistage stratified cluster random sampling in June 2014. Diet was assessed using a simplified food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Height, weight, and Tanner stages of breast development, pubic hair growth, and testicular volume were carefully measured. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify dietary patterns, and logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between dietary patterns and precocious puberty. Results Three distinct dietary patterns, “traditional diet,” “unhealthy diet,” and “protein diet,” were established. Neither the “traditional diet” pattern nor the “protein diet” pattern showed any association with precocious puberty, taking gender, BMI, and adjustment factors into consideration. The “unhealthy diet” pattern was significantly positively associated with precocious puberty in both boys (OR = 1.24, 95% CI = 1.02–1.51) and girls (OR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.10–1.56). The relationship remained positive only for girls (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.04–1.49) after adjustment for age and BMI but statistically nonsignificant after further adjustment for socioeconomic factors in both boys and girls. Conclusions Dietary patterns were found to be related to precocious puberty among Shanghai children.

Modern dietary pattern is prospectively associated with earlier age at menarche: data from the CHNS 1997–2015

“…Knowledge on specific type of dietary patterns might influence age at menarche among Chinese girls is lacking. A recent cross-sectional study of children in Shanghai found that unhealthy diet pattern, characterized by high intakes of dessert/snacks, soft drinks, and fried food, was positively associated with precocious puberty in girls [20]. However, this study was cross-sectional, and did not adjust for other potential confounding factors, such as energy intake.…”

Children with Early Sexual Maturation Exhibit Changes in Dairy and Soybean Consumption: A 6-Year Nationwide Study

“…The "traditional diet" was not associated with ESM in children. Similarly, Chen et al [11] found no association between precocious puberty and "traditional diet" included white meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products. Our "traditional diet" pattern included a high intake of animal protein which has been found not associated with early menarche [39,40].…”

“…Notably, no signi cant association was observed between the "whole grain and fat" pattern and ESM [10]. These contrasting ndings may be attributed to differences between Eastern and Western DPs, differing study designs, and the variety of statistical methods used to obtain DPs, such as principle component analysis and factor analysis [10][11][12][13]. Moreover, none of the aforementioned studies applied reduced-rank regression (RRR) to extract DPs in relation to ESM.…”

“…Studies have indicated that dietary pattern (DP), which relates to the synergistic effects of multiple food components, has an effect on ESM [10][11][12]. Signi cant associations have been found between ESM and shell sh and processed meat [12] and unhealthy DPs [11] (white meat, snacks, fried food, and soft drinks).…”

“…Studies have indicated that dietary pattern (DP), which relates to the synergistic effects of multiple food components, has an effect on ESM [10][11][12]. Signi cant associations have been found between ESM and shell sh and processed meat [12] and unhealthy DPs [11] (white meat, snacks, fried food, and soft drinks). Though children were more likely to undergo ESM if they adhered to the "processed meat and re ned grain" pattern, they experienced later pubertal development if their DP included mostly "vegetables and lean proteins" [10].…”