Is There any Association between Age at Menarche and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome? The Tehran Lipid & Glucose Study

There is controversial data available regarding the impact of age at menarche on cardio-metabolic parameters. This community-based study aimed to assess this association among Iranian women.

We recruited 5,344 eligible women out of 7718, aged 10–50 years who participated in the Tehran lipid and glucose study (TLGS), conducted in 1999–2000. Based on their age at menarche, these women were subdivided into five groups: <11 years, 11–12 years, 13–14 years, 15–16 years and ≥17 years. The status of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components were compared among study subgroups.

The crude prevalence of MetS was 11.9, 95% CI: 11.0–13.0. Prevalence values for MetS components were 20.1 for central obesity (95% CI: 19.0–21.3), 15.7 for high fasting blood sugar (FBS), (95% CI: 14.5–17.1), 15.1 for high triglycerides, (95% CI: 14.1–16.3), 53.5 for low high density lipoproteins (HDL) (95% CI: 51.9-55.0) and 9.5 for high blood pressure (BP) (95% CI: 8.5–10.4). After adjustment for covariates, menarche age <11 years, compared to 13–14 years, was significantly associated with higher risk of Mets (odds ratio [OR] = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1–5.4) and its components; i.e. central obesity (OR = 2.5, 95% CI: 1.5–4.2), BP (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4–6.0) and FBS (OR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.4–6.0). To compare our results with other studies, we calculated the standardized prevalence of MetS which was based on the WHO standardized population 11.5, 95%CI: 10.7–12.5 and the standardized prevalence of MetS by the population in Tehran was 11.7, 95% CI: 10.7–12.6.

Early menarche can be associated with an increase in metabolic disturbances later in life.