Socioeconomic status in relation to early menarche among black and white girls

Abstract

Objective Early menarche is a risk factor for breast cancer. We investigated the variation in age at menarche by socioeconomic status (SES) and race. Methods A cohort study was conducted on 1,091 black and 986 white girls from the three sites in the United States as part of the NHLBI Growth and Health Study (NGHS), who were aged 9-10 years at baseline and followed through adolescence over a 10-year period with annual exams. Using logistic regression models, we evaluated the nature and strength of associations between two socioeconomic indicators (household income and parental education) and early menarche (\12 years old) unadjusted and adjusted for anthropometry and maternal age at menarche. Results Proportionately, more black girls were menarcheal before 12 years of age compared to their white counterparts (46%, n = 468 vs. 26%, n = 240, respectively, p \ 0.0001). Parental education was not a significant predictor of early menarche. The graded association between household income and age at menarche was strong and significant among black girls but less clear among white girls. Compared with those in the lowest quartile of household income, white girls in the highest quartile were at a significantly lower risk of early menarche [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.37, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 0.18-0.80]. The inverse was true for black girls: those in the highest quartile of household income were at an increased risk of early menarche (adjusted OR = 2.15, 95% CI 1.27-3.63) Conclusion The SES factor selected (household income versus parental education) affected the findings regarding racial differences in the timing of menarche. It will be important for future studies to elucidate the link between household income and age at menarche in developed countries.

Early puberty in 11-year-old girls: Millennium Cohort Study findings

“…Average age estimates for menstruation in low and middle income countries which may have some relevance for ethnic minority groups included in the current study are largely historical and limited in availability. 40 Similar to our findings, socioeconomic gradients in puberty onset have been shown elsewhere, 12 and two landmark studies suggested that disadvantaged early environments, characterised by some or all of poverty, family conflict, father absence and negative parenting were associated with early onset menstruation. 22 23 Other reports suggest that stressful circumstances just prior to puberty might have the opposite effect, delaying onset, 41 42 but findings from these reports are confounded by co-occurring nutritional stress which makes their interpretation difficult.…”

“…8 Prior studies, mostly from the USA, have described socioeconomic and ethnic/racial patterning of the onset of puberty. [9][10][11][12][13][14] Given the different historical and geographical patterns of migration to the UK and USA we might not necessarily expect to see ethnic differences in early puberty in the UK.…”

Age at Menarche and Age at First Sexual Intercourse: A Prospective Cohort Study

“…Covariates Ethnicity, 14,22,42,55 socioeconomic status, 15,44,56 family structure, 11,55,57 and birth size 3,11,15,58 are thought to be associated with both AAM and age at FSI but are unlikely to mediate the relationship. Key variables reflecting these constructs were selected from the data collected at baseline and at age 10 years to construct an a priori-adjusted model.…”

“…Factors regulating AAM are not well understood, but in developed countries, about one-half of the variation in AAM is thought to be genetic. 1,2 Other mediating factors include birth and childhood body size, [3][4][5][6] adiposity, 3,7 growth, [8][9][10] race/ethnicity, [11][12][13] socioeconomic position, [13][14][15][16][17] family relationships and structure, 11,16,18,19 and exposure to childhood adversity and trauma. 20,21 Younger AAM has widely been proposed as a risk factor for early first sexual intercourse (FSI).…”

Trends of Menarcheal Age in Women in the Reproductive Age and Menopause in Shanghai

“…Early or late menarcheal age has great influence on the health of women. Researchers have found that an early menarcheal age was associated with an increased risk for endometriosis, obesity and type 2 diabetes [1,2,3], as well as several hormone-associated cancers, such as breast cancer, myomatosis, multiple sclerosis, endometrial cancer and uterine leiomyomata [4,5,6,7,8,9], and late menarcheal age was associated with urinary incontinence, senile dementia and osteoporosis [10,11]. …”