Early menarche is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in adulthood.

Yi, Kyung Hee; Hwang, Jin Soon; Lim, Se Won; Lee, Jun Ah; Kim, Dong Ho; Lim, Jung Sub

Background The aim of this study was to examine the association between early menarche (<12 years) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in premenopausal women and to explore whether it is mediated by adult obesity and insulin resistance. Methods We analyzed data of premenopausal women, aged ≥15 years, from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2009). We divided the women into three groups: early menarche, reference (12.00-15.99 years), and late menarche. The presence of NAFLD was determined using hepatic steatosis index >36.0. Results Of the 4,387 women evaluated, 673 (15.4%) met the criteria for NAFLD. The prevalence of NAFLD was higher in both women with early and late menarche compared with the reference (early, 23.4%; reference, 14.0%; late, 19.9%, P < 0.001). After adjustment of confounders including age, the OR for NAFLD in early menarche compared with the reference was 3.04 (95%CI: 1.99-4.65). Further adjustment of mediators, such as central obesity or insulin resistance, attenuated the association to 1.91-2.17. There was no association, however, between late menarche and NAFLD after adjustment of confounders. Conclusions Early menarche was associated with an increased risk of NAFLD in young and middle-aged premenopausal Korean women.

KOREA; FATTY liver; CONFIDENCE intervals; INSULIN resistance; MENARCHE; OBESITY; PRECOCIOUS puberty; QUESTIONNAIRES; PERIMENOPAUSE; DISEASE prevalence; ODDS ratio; DISEASE complications; ADULTS; DISEASE risk factors

Pediatrics International, 2017, Vol 59, Issue 12, p1270

1328-8067

Academic Journal

10.1111/ped.13422