Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk
- PMID: 28436984
- PMCID: PMC5841952
- DOI: 10.1038/ng.3841
Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk
Abstract
The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project-imputed genotype data in up to ∼370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P < 5 × 10-8) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain ∼7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to ∼25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate ∼250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
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Comment in
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Reproductive endocrinology: Puberty timing and cancer risk.Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2017 Jul;13(7):377. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2017.63. Epub 2017 May 12. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2017. PMID: 28497815 No abstract available.
References
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- Parent AS, et al. The timing of normal puberty and the age limits of sexual precocity: variations around the world, secular trends, and changes after migration. Endocr. Rev. 2003;24:668–693. - PubMed
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