Abstract
In Guangzhou, China, whether the trend of a decreasing pubertal age has continued in recent years remained unknown, and the association between obesity and early puberty was still controversial. Herein, we conducted a serial cross-sectional study using data from physical fitness surveillance (2005–2012), to determine the recent trends in age at spermarche and menarche among students in Guangzhou, and to investigate whether elevated BMI modified timing of spermarche and menarche. This study included 1,278,258 urban students. In boys, no significant differences were observed in median ages of spermarche (MAS) from 2005 to 2012, with overlapping 95% CIs. Similar results were observed for median ages of menarche (MAM) in girls. The Cox-Stuart trend test showed neither upward nor downward shift in MAS and MAM over time (P = 0.625; 1.000). Each year, both MAS and MAM decreased with increasing BMI. Furthermore, a higher BMI was associated with early age at spermarche and menarche, with ORs of 1.052 (95% CI = 1.045–1.059) and 1.233 (95% CI = 1.220–1.247) in 2012 for boys and girls, respectively. In conclusion, the pubertal timing has been stable in urban students from 2005 to 2012. Furthermore, obesity was associated with early timing of spermarche and menarche.
Highlights
Puberty is a dynamic biological process that involves the exertion of positive feedback on the hypothalamicpituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis[1]
Lee et al suggested that higher body mass index (BMI) z-scores at 3 years of age and rapid weight gain during childhood were positively associated with early menarcheal age[13]
Mai suggested that the changes in pubertal timing was not obvious between 1985 and 200019, whereas Liang et al showed a decreasing trend in ages at spermarche and menarche in four- or five-year intervals during 1991–2014 based on small sample size[20]
Summary
Puberty is a dynamic biological process that involves the exertion of positive feedback on the hypothalamicpituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis[1]. Epidemiological evidence has linked variability in pubertal timing to genetics, psychological factors, some environmental chemicals, physical activity, and nutritional status Of these factors, nutritional influences, as reflected in body size during childhood, are the most relevant[3]. Mai suggested that the changes in pubertal timing was not obvious between 1985 and 200019, whereas Liang et al showed a decreasing trend in ages at spermarche and menarche in four- or five-year intervals during 1991–2014 based on small sample size[20]. The current study analyzed data from annual physical fitness surveillance of a large sample of students from 2005 to 2012, to depict the trends in timing of spermarche and menarche in Guangzhou and, more importantly, to explore the possible associations between BMI and ages at spermarche/menarche
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