Early age at menarche and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a cohort study

Anastasia Angelopoulou; Kleoniki I Athanasiadou; Maria Zairi; Evangelia Zapanti; Vasiliki Vasileiou; Stavroula A Paschou; Eleni Anastasiou

doi:10.1007/s12020-024-03776-6

Early age at menarche and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a cohort study

Endocrine. 2024 Mar 18. doi: 10.1007/s12020-024-03776-6. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Anastasia Angelopoulou¹, Kleoniki I Athanasiadou², Maria Zairi¹, Evangelia Zapanti¹, Vasiliki Vasileiou¹, Stavroula A Paschou³, Eleni Anastasiou¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes Centre, Alexandra Hospital, Athens, Greece.
² Endocrine Unit and Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
³ Endocrine Unit and Diabetes Centre, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Alexandra Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. s.a.paschou@gmail.com.

PMID: 38498127
DOI: 10.1007/s12020-024-03776-6

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate whether there is an association between age at menarche (AAM) and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including 5390 pregnant women who were screened for GDM at Alexandra Hospital in Athens, Greece over a 15-year period (2000-2014). Maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), height, family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, parity, educational and smoking status, and AAM were recorded. The results were expressed as odds ratios (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI).

Results: Pregnant women with GDM experienced earlier menarche compared to normoglycemic women (12.9 ± 1.5 vs 13.1 ± 1.6, p < 0.001, respectively). The OR for a woman with AAM <12 years to develop GDM was 1.08 (95% CI 1.03-1.14), while the OR to be obese was 1.70 (95% CI 1.50-1.90). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that AAM is a risk factor for GDM. However, that effect was lost after adjusting for BMI.

Conclusion: Early AAM may be associated with an increased risk of GDM. Therefore, it can be used to identify high-risk women and implement preconception interventions for GDM prevention. Future studies should be conducted to confirm these findings.

Keywords: GDM; Menarche; Obesity; Pregnancy.