Maternal Pre-pregnancy BMI, Gestational Weight Gain, and Age at Menarche in Daughters

Abstract

Objectives Life course theory suggests that early life experiences can shape health over a lifetime and across generations. Associations between maternal pregnancy experience and daughters’ age at menarche are not well understood. We examined whether maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain (GWG) were independently related to daughters’ age at menarche. Consistent with a life course perspective, we also examined whether maternal GWG, birth weight, and prepubertal BMI mediated the relationship between pre-pregnancy BMI and daughter's menarcheal age. Methods We examined 2,497 mother-daughter pairs from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Survival analysis with Cox proportional hazards was used to estimate whether maternal pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity (BMI 25.0 kg/m2) and GWG adequacy (inadequate, recommended, and excessive) were associated with risk for earlier menarche among girls, controlling for important covariates. Analyses were conducted to examine the mediating roles of GWG adequacy, child birth weight and prepubertal BMI. Results Adjusting for covariates, pre-pregnancy overweight/obesity (HR= 1.20, 95% CI 1.06, 1.36) and excess GWG (HR=1.13, 95% CI 1.01, 1.27) were associated with daughters’ earlier menarche, while inadequate GWG was not. The association between maternal pre-pregnancy weight and daughters’ menarcheal timing was not mediated by daughter's birth weight, prepubertal BMI or maternal GWG. Conclusions Maternal factors, before and during pregnancy, are potentially important determinants of daughters’ menarcheal timing and are amenable to intervention. Further research is needed to better understand pathways through which these factors operate.

In utero preeclampsia exposure, milk intake and pubertal development

“…In our analysis, child's weight and maternal BMI were more strongly associated with the OR of thelarche and child's height and weight were the only variables significantly associated with breast development at 12.9 years. These findings are consistent with studies showing earlier breast development among girls with greater BMI and accelerated achievement of pubertal milestones among both male and female offspring of overweight or obese mothers [34,35]. One potential mechanism for the effect of dairy consumption on thelarche in this population is that it is often associated with lower weight and adiposity in observational studies [36].…”

Nutritional Determinants of the Timing of Puberty

“…Whether these factors could alter the onset of puberty is uncertain. Prepregnant overweight and obesity have been related to younger age at menarche in some cohort investigations (23,50); nevertheless, this association may not necessarily represent a causal effect but could instead be a result of shared genetic or environmental factors. One study reported a weak, U-shaped association between gestational weight gain and the risk of early menarche in the offspring (10), but this relation was not independent of prepregnancy weight in another investigation (23).…”

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Inadequate Gestational Weight Gain Differ by Pre-pregnancy Weight

“…Given rising obesity and growing evidence that GWG may contribute to setting the trajectory for poor health throughout life (12), the association between excessive GWG and large for gestational age and macrosomic infants has raised concern about children's subsequent increased risks for metabolic disorders and obesity (12-14), early menarche (15), and cardiovascular disease in adulthood (16). In mothers, excessive GWG is associated with antenatal and intra-partum complications (4) and obesity postpartum (4,13,14) and later in life (17,18).…”