Leslie V Farland1,2, Fan Mu3, A Heather Eliassen3,4, Susan E Hankinson3,4,5, Shelley S Tworoger3,4,6, Robert L Barbieri7, Mitch Dowsett8, Michael N Pollak9, Stacey A Missmer3,7,4,10. 1. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. lfarland@mail.harvard.edu. 2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. lfarland@mail.harvard.edu. 3. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. 4. Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 5. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA. 6. Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA. 7. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. 8. Academic Department of Biochemistry, The Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK. 9. Department of Oncology, McGill University and Lady Davis Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada. 10. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Menstrual cycle characteristics are markers of endocrine milieu. However, associations between age at menarche and adulthood sex steroid hormone levels have been inconsistent, and data on menstrual characteristics and non-sex steroid hormones are sparse. METHODS: We assessed the relations of menstrual characteristics with premenopausal plasma sex steroid hormones, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), prolactin, and growth factors among 2,745 premenopausal women (age 32-52) from the Nurses' Health Study II. Geometric means and tests for trend were calculated using multivariable general linear models. RESULTS: Early age at menarche was associated with higher premenopausal early-follicular free estradiol (percent difference < 12 vs. > 13 years = 11%), early-follicular estrone (7%), luteal estrone (7%), and free testosterone (8%) (all p trend < 0.05). Short menstrual cycle length at age 18-22 was associated with higher early-follicular total (< 26 vs. > 39 days = 18%) and free estradiol (16%), early-follicular estrone (9%), SHBG (7%), lower luteal free estradiol (- 14%), total (- 6%), and free testosterone (- 15%) (all p trend < 0.05). Short adult menstrual length was associated with higher early-follicular total estradiol (< 26 vs. > 31 days = 14%), SHBG (10%), lower luteal estrone (- 8%), progesterone (- 9%), total (- 11%) and free testosterone (- 25%), and androstenedione (- 14%) (all p trend < 0.05). Irregularity of menses at 18-22 was associated with lower early-follicular total (irregular vs. very regular = - 14%) and free estradiol (- 14%), and early-follicular estrone (- 8%) (All p trend < 0.05). Irregularity of adult menstrual cycle was associated with lower luteal total estradiol (irregular vs. very regular = - 8%), SHBG (- 3%), higher total (8%), and free testosterone (11%) (all p trend < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Early-life and adulthood menstrual characteristics are moderately associated with mid-to-late reproductive year's hormone concentrations. These relations of menstrual characteristics with endogenous hormone levels could partially account for associations between menstrual characteristics and reproductive cancers or other chronic diseases.
PURPOSE: Menstrual cycle characteristics are markers of endocrine milieu. However, associations between age at menarche and adulthood sex steroid hormone levels have been inconsistent, and data on menstrual characteristics and non-sex steroid hormones are sparse. METHODS: We assessed the relations of menstrual characteristics with premenopausal plasma sex steroid hormones, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), prolactin, and growth factors among 2,745 premenopausal women (age 32-52) from the Nurses' Health Study II. Geometric means and tests for trend were calculated using multivariable general linear models. RESULTS: Early age at menarche was associated with higher premenopausal early-follicular freeestradiol (percent difference < 12 vs. > 13 years = 11%), early-follicular estrone (7%), luteal estrone (7%), and freetestosterone (8%) (all p trend < 0.05). Short menstrual cycle length at age 18-22 was associated with higher early-follicular total (< 26 vs. > 39 days = 18%) and freeestradiol (16%), early-follicular estrone (9%), SHBG (7%), lower luteal freeestradiol (- 14%), total (- 6%), and freetestosterone (- 15%) (all p trend < 0.05). Short adult menstrual length was associated with higher early-follicular total estradiol (< 26 vs. > 31 days = 14%), SHBG (10%), lower luteal estrone (- 8%), progesterone (- 9%), total (- 11%) and freetestosterone (- 25%), and androstenedione (- 14%) (all p trend < 0.05). Irregularity of menses at 18-22 was associated with lower early-follicular total (irregular vs. very regular = - 14%) and freeestradiol (- 14%), and early-follicular estrone (- 8%) (All p trend < 0.05). Irregularity of adult menstrual cycle was associated with lower luteal total estradiol (irregular vs. very regular = - 8%), SHBG (- 3%), higher total (8%), and freetestosterone (11%) (all p trend < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Early-life and adulthood menstrual characteristics are moderately associated with mid-to-late reproductive year's hormone concentrations. These relations of menstrual characteristics with endogenous hormone levels could partially account for associations between menstrual characteristics and reproductive cancers or other chronic diseases.
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