Meat consumption and age of menarche among schoolgirls in Shanghai

Abstract Background：The relationship between dietary intake and pubertal development is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the association between meat consumption and early 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 standardized questionnaires. Height, weight and percentage of body fat were measured by trained field staff. Logistic regression was used to analyse the association between intake of meat and early menarche. Results：Among all the school girls who had experienced menarche (n=986), the mean age at menarche was 11.97±1.24 years. Of the girls, 26.10% (n=518) had early 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 early menarche (P-trend=0.03). Girls who never consumed poultry had a lower risk of early menarche (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.39–0.96). Poultry consumption less than once a week was not significantly associated with early menarche compared with those consuming poultry once or more a week (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.50–1.08). Neither the consumption of pork, beef, lamb, processed meat nor total meat consumption were associated with menarche age. Conclusions: Higher consumption of poultry was associated with an earlier age at menarche.