Dietary Iron Intake in Relation to Age of Menarche: A Perspective Cohort Study in Chilean Girls Público

Abstract

Background: The early onset of menarche is considered an important risk factor for a number of diseases in adulthood. Dietary iron intake may be related to pubertal timing due to its role in childhood growth, optimal cognitive development, and reproductive function.

Objective: We investigated the relation between dietary iron intake and age of menarche in a prospective cohort of Chilean girls.  

Methods: A total of 602 Chilean girls are included in the Growth and Obesity Cohort Study. The subjects have been followed longitudinally since they were 3–4 y old (from 2006 to the present). Starting in 2013, diet was assessed every 6 months via a 24-h recall. The date of menarche was reported every 6 months. Our analysis included 435 girls with prospective data on diet and age of menarche. We used a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for the association between cumulative average iron intake and age at menarche.

Results: The majority of girls in our cohort (99.5%) attained menarche with an average (standard deviation) age at menarche of 12.2 (0.9) years. The mean dietary iron intake among girls was 13.5 mg/day with a range of 4.0 – 30.6 mg/day. Total iron intake was not associated with age at menarche in calorie- or multivariable-adjusted models. After adjusting for calorie intake, mother’s age of menarche, percent of calories from fat and protein, folate and vitamin B12 intake, and time spent watching television in childhood, the HRs (95% CIs) for menarche in increasing quartiles of iron intake were 0.83 (0.61, 1.1), 0.72 (0.52, 0.98), and 0.90 (0.62, 1.31), respectively, compared to girls in quartile 1 (p-trend 0.32). Similar associations were observed after further adjustment for BMI z-score and height before age of menarche.

Conclusion: Dietary iron intake was not associated with age at menarche in Chilean girls with adequate iron intake.  

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………7

Methods...…………………………………………………………………………………………8

Results………………………………………………………………………………………..….12

Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………………….13

Table 1 ………………………………………………………………………………………..…17

Table 2 …………………………………………………………………………………………..18

Supplemental Table 1 …………………………………………………………………………...18

Figure 1 ………………………………………………………………………………………….19

Figure 2 ………………………………………………………………………………………….19

References …………………………………………………………………………………….…20

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Epidemiology
Subfield / Discipline	Epidemiology - MPH & MSPH
Degree	M.P.H.
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Nutrition Health Sciences, Epidemiology
Palavra-chave	diet, iron, puberty, development, adolescent, menarche
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dr. Audrey Gaskins, Emory University
Committee Members	Ifeoma Ekwuocha, Emory University

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