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. 2021 Mar;110(3):889-895.
doi: 10.1111/apa.15554. Epub 2020 Sep 16.

Higher poultry consumption was associated with an earlier age at menarche

Youmei Wu  1 , Qiuyun Gu  2 , Xueying Cui  2 , Zhenni Zhu  3 , Jiajie Zang  3 , Zhengyuan Wang  3 , Fan Wu  3 , Xiuhua Shen  1   2   4
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Higher poultry consumption was associated with an earlier age at menarche

Youmei Wu et al. Acta Paediatr. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Aim: To examine the association between meat consumption and earlier age of menarche among schoolgirls in Shanghai.

Methods: The study randomly selected 1981 schoolgirls aged 6-18 years in Shanghai using a two-stage random sampling design. Information on meat intake was collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Menarche age, household income, physical activity and other covariates were obtained by standardised questionnaires. Logistic regression was used to analyse the association between intake of meat and earlier age of menarche. Earlier age of menarche was defined as first menstruation before 12 years of age.

Results: Among the 986 girls who had experienced menarche, 518/986 (52.5%) had earlier age of menarche. After adjusting for body mass index, age, physical activity, sleep, household income and parental education, consumption of poultry was positively associated with risk of earlier age of menarche (P-trend = .03). Girls who never consumed poultry had a lower risk of earlier age of menarche (odds ratio [OR]: 0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39-0.96). Neither the consumption of pork, beef, lamb, processed meat nor total meat consumption was associated with menarche age.

Conclusion: Higher consumption of poultry was associated with an earlier age at menarche.

Keywords: age at menarche; food frequency; meat intake; poultry consumption; puberty.

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References

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