Early Menstruation May Lead To Diabetes Risk

A new study conducted in eight European countries suggests that there is an association between the time girls begin menstruation and an increased risk for developing diabetes in adulthood.
The study, published in the November issue of Diabetes Care does not outright say that girls who begin menstruating early will definitely have diabetes in adulthood, but it does make a connection.
"The body is undergoing many changes during puberty," says Cathy Elks, a research fellow at the MRC epidemiology unit at the University of Cambridge in England. "Our research, as well as previous related studies, suggests that the biological factors implicated in the timing of development may have a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, despite the fact that these processes occur many years before the manifestation of disturbed [blood sugar] control."
Elks and colleagues looked at the medical records of more than 15,000 women and found that those who began menstruating between the ages of 8 and 11 were 70 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those began menstruation at age 13, the average age.
Other studies have shown that girls who start puberty early are more likely to develop obesity, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. Obesity, which is common among girls who get their first period, may certainly be a factor, but it's not the reason. Even when statistics were adjusted to remove the effects of obesity, researchers found that when puberty was started early, girls still had a higher risk of developing diabetes.
"These findings suggest that early puberty has an effect on metabolic disease risk, which is partially mediated by an increased BMI (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight), but also has some direct effect through other biological pathways which act independently of adioposity (body fat)," the study authors wrote in a news release to the American Diabetes Association.
The authors did note that have a period after the age of 15 did not offer greater protection from type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
Reference: Philly.com
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