Genetic correlates of menarcheal age: a multivariate twin study

Loesch, Danuta Z.; Huggins, Richard; Rogucka, E.; Hoang, Ngoc Hong Minh; Hopper, John L.

doi:10.1080/03014469500004152

Cited by 43 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…He found instead that height velocity was a far stronger predictor than weight, suggesting that the timing of menarche is determined by the rate of maturation not body size. Twin studies also show that the genetic control of sexual maturation is independent of the corresponding genetic system determining body size (Loesch et al 1995).…”

Section: Menarcheal Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secular trends in growth

Cole¹

2000

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

461

389

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Since the 19th century there have been clearly documented secular trends to increasing adult height in most European countries, with current rates of 10–30 mm / decade. Over the same period menarcheal age has also fallen steeply, but has now stabilized at approximately 13 years and may be rising again. Height trends tend to be greater in childhood than in adulthood due to the associated advance in maturation, but no trends are apparent before the age of 2 years. In particular, birth-weight trends are small and different in shape from height trends. The adult height trend matches that at age 2 years, so that the increment in adult height has already been achieved by age 2 years. To try to identify factors relating to the secular trend, increased height gain in late infancy is hypothesized to be equivalent to a reduction in stunting, and stunting is thought to be caused by impaired growth in the long bones of the leg in later infancy. Leg growth may be regulated by the expression of growth-hormone receptors on the growth plates, which it is hypothesized are susceptible to the interaction between concurrent nutrition and the nominal growth rate set during pregnancy. The timing of menarche is also likely to be determined by some growth factor operating near the time of birth, which also affects later weight, but not height.

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Section: Menarcheal Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secular trends in growth

Cole¹

2000

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

461

389

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“…Age at menarche is known to be influenced by genetic factors (Loesch et al, 1995;Meyer et al, 1991) as well as by variables such as the degree of urbanization (Pasquet et al, 1999), the socioeconomic status (Henneberg and Louw, 1995), the number of children in the family, and the order of birth (Apraiz, 1999). Other factors such as nutrition (Simodon et al, 1997), seasonality (Boldsen, 1992), physical activity (Malina, 1983), and altitude (Gonzales et al, 1996) also have shown a significant effect on age at menarche.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Secular trends in age at menarche among Caboclo populations from Pará, Amazonia, Brazil: 1930–1980

Silva

Padez

2005

American J Hum Biol

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The present study is part of a large research project on growth, development, nutrition, and health of Caboclo populations from the Brazilian Amazon. The aim of this paper is to analyze the age of menarche in adolescents (N ¼ 164) and adult women (219) in the studied populations. Caboclo are admixed rural, peasant groups that live along the Amazon river and its tributaries, and there are few previous studies about them. Probit analysis of the status quo data yielded a median age at menarche of 12.29 AE 1.76 years. The retrospective method was applied to recall data of the 77 post-menarcheal adolescents, yielding an average of 13.06 AE 1.27 years. Number of children in the family did not show any statistical influence on age at menarche in any age group. In adult women, age at menarche decreased from 14.50 in those born in 1930 to 12.88 for those born in 1980 (F ¼ 4.371, P ¼ 0.001). The downward trend found was, on average, 0.237 year per decade in the study period. The median age at menarche in the adolescents (12.29 years) is one of the lowest values found for Central and South American populations. In the ecological context, a low age at menarche could be an adaptive advantage because it provides a greater chance for reproduction at a young age in an environment where, until recently, life expectancy was low. As has been reported for other developing countries, the change found in age at menarche in the women born from the 1930s to the 1980s is likely to be related to changes in health and nutritional factors that occurred in Brazil because this country experienced significant improvement in living standards related to education, vaccination, and health conditions, which, although not equally, reached all regions after the 1960s.

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“…Other important factors are associated with age at menarche: genetic predisposition (Baxter-Jones et al, 1994;Loesch et al, 1995;Malina et al, 1994;Stager and Hatler, 1988), low body mass or low body fat content (Frisch, 1990), dietary behavior (Bale et al, 1996;Hamilton et al, 1988), family size (Malina et al, 1979;1997;Veronesi and Gueresi, 1994), and socioeconomic status (Bielicki et al, 1986;Łaska-Mierzejewska, 1995;Veronesi and Gueresi, 1994). Menarche is significantly later in rural Polish populations (Łaska-Mierzejewska, 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Menarcheal ages of mothers and daughters and sisters points to familial dependence. Studies of twins, mothers and daughters, and sisters indicate a significant genetic effect in the timing of menarche (BaxterJones et al, 1994;Bergman and Orczykowska-Ś wia tkowska, 1988;Loesch et al, 1995;Malina et al, 1994;Stager and Hatler, 1988;Treloar and Martin, 1990). Other sources of variation in timing of this maturational event may include inappropriate diet, low nutritional status, and low body fat (Bale et al, 1996;Frisch, 1990;Kissinger and Sanchez, 1987;Łaska-Mierzejewska, 1993), which are associated with later menarche.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Age at menarche and prevalence of oligo/amenorrhea in top Polish athletes

Skierska¹

1998

Am. J. Hum. Biol.

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Genetic correlates of menarcheal age: a multivariate twin study

Cited by 43 publications

References 16 publications

Secular trends in growth

Secular trends in growth

Secular trends in age at menarche among Caboclo populations from Pará, Amazonia, Brazil: 1930–1980

Age at menarche and prevalence of oligo/amenorrhea in top Polish athletes

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