title: Early and late menarche are associated with oligomenorrhea and predict metabolic syndrome 26 years later.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We determined whether simple, clinical information on late and early menarche could help identify adult women with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and oligomenorrhea.
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out a 26-year prospective follow-up of 272 suburban schoolgirls from ages 5-22 to 30-46.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Early menarche (≤10 years, 5.2% of girls) and late menarche (≥16 years, 6.7% of girls) were both associated with oligomenorrhea (≥42 days) in adulthood, 29% and 11%, vs. 5% for normal menarche (11-15 years), p=.004. Early menarche was characterized by high childhood BMI (LS mean±SE: 21.2 ±1.0 kg/m2) and by high childhood and adult MetS (15%, 36%). Girls with late menarche had the lowest childhood BMI (18.1±1.0), no childhood MetS, and the highest adult MetS (47%). Increasing age at menarche was associated with uniformly decreasing childhood BMI and MetS, but with a U-shaped pattern of BMI (p = .05), MetS (p=.008), and oligomenorrhea (p=.02) in adulthood. Change to MetS from median ages 13 to 38 was associated with early-late menarche (OR=3.11, 95% CI 1.37-7.07, p=.007). MetS in adulthood was associated with childhood MetS (OR=8.03, 95% CI 2.57-25.08, p=.0003) and with early-late menarche (OR =3.43, 95% CI 1.44-8.15, p=.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Menarche age had a curvilinear ('U' shaped) relationship with MetS and oligomenorrhea in adulthood. Late menarche and early menarche are risk factors for adult oligomenorrhea, MetS, and cardiometabolic abnormalities. Girls with early (≤ age 10) and with late menarche (≥ 16) represent a group at high risk for adult cardiometabolic abnormalities and oligomenorrhea that is easily identifiable by physicians.
authors: Cholesterol and Metabolism Center, Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Electronic address: cjglueck@health-partners.org.
authors: Charles J
authors: CJ
authors: Glueck
authors: John A
authors: JA
authors: Morrison
authors: Ping
authors: P
authors: Wang
authors: Jessica G
authors: JG
authors: Woo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008572:Menarche; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009839:Oligomenorrhea / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides
keywords: 95% CI; 95% confidence intervals; BMI; Body mass index; Cardiometabolic abnormalities; DBP; Early menarche; HDLC; LDLC; LRC; Late menarche; Lipid Research Clinics; MetS; Metabolic syndrome; OR; Oligomenorrhea; PFS; Princeton Follow-up Study; SBP; TG; diastolic blood pressure; high density lipoprotein cholesterol; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; odds ratio; systolic blood pressure; triglyceride