Pubertal timing and growth influences cardiometabolic risk factors in adult males and females

• Published in: Diabetes Care
• Main Authors: Widen, E, Silventoinen, K, Sovio, U, Ripatti, S, Cousminer, DL, Hartikainen, A-L, Laitinen, J, Pouta, A, Kaprio, J, Jarvelin, M-R, Peltonen, L, Palotie, A
• Other Authors: Medical Research Council (MRC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Diabetes Association 2011
• Subjects: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Endocrinology & Metabolism; BODY-MASS INDEX; BIRTH COHORT; AGE; ASSOCIATION; MENARCHE; CHILDHOOD; HEIGHT; WEIGHT; GIRLS; WOMEN; Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Adult; Biological Clocks; Blood Glucose; Body Weight; Cohort Studies; Female; Growth and Development; Heart Diseases; Humans; Infant; Newborn; Lipids; Male; Metabolic Diseases; Puberty; Risk Factors; Sex Characteristics; Time Factors; Young Adult; 11 Medical and Health Sciences; Northern Finland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/85522; https://doi.org/10.2337/dc11-1365

OBJECTIVEdEarly pubertal onset in females is associated with increased risk for adult obesity and cardiovascular disease, but whether this relationship is independent of preceding childhood growth events is unclear. Furthermore, the association between male puberty and adult disease remains unknown. To clarify the link between puberty and adult health, we evaluated the relationship between pubertal timing and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in both males and females from a large, prospective, and randomly ascertained birth cohort from Northern Finland. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdPubertal timing was estimated based on pubertal height growth in 5,058 subjects (2,417 males and 2,641 females), and the relationship between puberty and body weight, glucose and lipid homeostasis, and blood pressure at age 31 years was evaluated with linear regression modeling. RESULTSdEarlier pubertal timing associated with higher adult BMI, fasting insulin, diastolic blood pressure, and decreased HDL cholesterol in both sexes (P , 0.002) and with higher total serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides in males. The association with BMI and diastolic blood pressure remained statistically significant in both sexes, as did the association with insulin levels and HDL cholesterol concentrations in males after adjusting for covariates reflecting both fetal and childhood growth including childhood BMI. CONCLUSIONSdWe demonstrate independent association between earlier pubertal timing and adult metabolic syndrome-related derangements both in males and females. The connection emphasizes that the mechanisms advancing puberty may also contribute to adult metabolic disorders.