Study shows reproductive risk factors linked to overall adiposity
Age at onset of menarche (first menstrual cycle) is associated with increased body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and overall obesity in adulthood, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in women in the United States. When compared to men, women may manifest their clinical disease later in life, rendering standard risk prediction algorithms less reliable in women. The current study uses a life course approach, which looks for associations between earlier life events and later health outcomes, to better understand and predict CVD risk in women at their pre-clinical stage.
"The purpose of this study was to examine whether female reproductive risk factors - including onset of menarche, number of births over a lifetime (called parity), onset of menopause, and menopausal status - are associated with indices of body fat composition," said Caroline S. Fox, MD, MPH, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and senior author of the study. "We found that earlier onset of menarche is associated with overall adiposity, whereas parity and menopausal age were not associated with adiposity measures. Post-menopausal women also had higher levels of overall adiposity, though this appeared to be mostly due to age and not menopausal status."