Associations between maternal age at menarche and anthropometric and metabolic parameters in the adolescent offspring

Abstract

Summary Objective We examined the associations between maternal age at menarche and anthropometry and metabolism in adolescent offspring. Methods Anthropometric, metabolic and blood pressure data were obtained from 304 girls and 190 boys aged 11‐16 years attending school in Hangzhou (China). Age at menarche for both mothers and daughters was self‐reported. Fasting blood samples were obtained and all participants underwent clinical examinations. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥95th percentile for age and sex. Results Older maternal age at menarche was associated with older age of their daughters at menarche (r = 0.21; P < 0.001). Mother's age at menarche was not associated with anthropometry or metabolism of daughters. However, younger maternal age at menarche was associated with increased hip and waist circumferences, and BMI SDS of their sons. Boys whose mothers were ≤13 years at menarche had an adjusted relative risk of obesity 3‐fold greater than sons of mothers with a later menarcheal onset (2.96; 95% CI 1.49, 5.87). Among daughters, every 1‐year increase in their age at menarche was associated with a 0.34 SDS reduction in BMI. Increasing age at menarche was also associated with reduced waist and hip circumferences (−1.5 and −1.8 cm/y, respectively) and waist‐to‐height ratio (−0.008 per year). Girls in the youngest menarcheal age tertile (8.8‐11.6 years) had diastolic blood pressure 2.2 mm Hg higher than other girls (P = 0.029). Conclusions Younger maternal age at menarche is associated with increased obesity risk in their sons, but not daughters. However, girls who experience menarche earlier have a less favourable anthropometric profile.

Maternal pre‐pregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, and pubertal timing in daughters: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of cohort studies

“…Offspring's pubertal timing and sexual maturity is greatly inherited from mother. Relevant studies have found that the maternal age of menarche is highly correlated with daughters' age of menarche, breast development, pubic hair development, and sons' first ejaculation 51,52 . The effect of pre‐pregnancy overweight/obesity on daughters' early timing of puberty onset was found to be remained after adjusting for maternal age at menarche in our study, suggesting that both maternal high pre‐pregnancy BMI and age at menarche may independently affect daughters' timing of puberty onset.…”

Cohort‐based analysis of maternal age at menarche in relation to young adult offspring anthropometric and metabolic parameters

“…Our findings are consistent with previous studies on children in Hong Kong, 26 United Kingdom 15 and United States of America 19 (infancy to 14‐years‐old offspring) by demonstrating a transgenerational effect of maternal early onset of puberty with offspring height and in contrast to a study in China which did not find a significant association 26 . Our sensitivity analysis by sex showed significant association only for boys which is consistent with a study in China 27 performed on adolescents (11–16 years old) and in contrast to other previous studies who did not find a sex‐specific association between MAM and offspring height 15,19,26 . This difference may be attributed to the smaller sample size in our study providing lower statistical power.…”

“…However, whether this cost–benefit trade‐off has an extended intergenerational effect is not clear. Several previous studies have addressed the relationship between MAM and offspring anthropometric measures and BMI at preschool and school ages (newborn to 16 years old) 15,17,20,26,27 . This is the first study that demonstrated the association of maternal age at menarche with anthropometric, BMI and metabolic health indices of offspring at adulthood (15–35 years old), providing implications on the long‐term consequences of mothers’ early or late age of menarche on their offspring's size and health.…”

“…Several previous studies have addressed the relationship between MAM and offspring anthropometric measures and BMI at preschool and school ages (newborn to 16 years old). 15,17,20,26,27 Note: Data are given as mean ± SD or absolute number n (percentage). p Values for differences between categories were obtained using the one-way analysis of variances for continuous variables and using the χ 2 for categorical variables.…”

Big challenges: obesity and type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents

“…Obese children are at increased risk for abnormal cardiacvscular complications [7]. In addition to cardiovascular complications such as hypertension vascular dysfunction, we also need to pay attention to further complications of obese children, such as precocious puberty, especially in obese girls [8,9]. Childhood obesity is in consequence of complex factors such as the environment change, genetic variation, and ecological effects.…”