Background: Early age at menarche (AAM) is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes later in life, but the pathways involved remain unknown. We examined the associations of AAM with C-reactive protein, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin among U.S. adult women free of diabetes in adulthood.
Methods: Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2018, 19,228 women over 20 years old, free of cancer and diabetes were included in our cross-sectional analysis. AAM was self-reported age of first menstruation. Multiple linear regression was performed on biomarkers measured in adulthood.
Results: The median age was 44 years (IQR, 33-62). Age-adjusted least-square means for AAM categories ≤10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and ≥15 years were 1.42, 1.08, 1.05, 0.80, 0.84, and 0.91 mg/L for C-reactive protein (P-trend=0.006); 84.85, 69.19, 68.11, 67.27, 64.42, and 60.69 pmol/L for fasting glucose (P-trend<0.0001); and 5.54, 5.45, 5.40, 5.39, 5.35, and 5.36 mmol/L fasting insulin (P-trend <0.0001), respectively. When models were further adjusted for demographic, reproductive, and lifestyle variables, the associations remained significant [Table].
Conclusion: Earlier age at menarche is associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein and poorer glucose metabolism in U.S. adult women free of diabetes.
M.P.Santos: None. A.M.Romrell: None. L.A.Bazzano: None. O.Carmichael: Advisory Panel; Novo Nordisk, Research Support; Eli Lilly and Company, Nestlé Health Science. J.He: None. S.H.Ley: None.
National Institutes of Health (T32HL158290)
