Objective: To analyze whether maternal age at first pregnancy and parity are mediators of the association between early menarche and metabolic syndrome in a sample of middle-aged and older women.
Methods: Cross-sectional study of 428 women (40 to 80 y), who had experienced a pregnancy in their lifetime, was performed between 2014 and 2016. Age at first pregnancy, parity, and early menarche were self-reported. Metabolic syndrome was assessed using the criteria described by the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III. The association between metabolic syndrome and early menarche was assessed by logistic regression analysis. The mediating role of age at first pregnancy and multiparity in the relationship between early menarche and metabolic syndrome was assessed through mediation analysis, adjusted for covariates.
Results: According to adjusted logistic regression models, early menarche was associated with higher odds of prevalent metabolic syndrome (OR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.15-4.46). Mediation analysis showed a significant direct effect of early menarche on metabolic syndrome (β: 0.808; 95% CI: 0.107-1.508). Of the two mediators tested, age at first pregnancy was significant (β: 0.065; 95% CI: 0.004-0.221), ie, participants with and without early menarche differ, on average, by 0.879 SDs in the log odds of MetS (total effect), of which 0.065 SDs (8%), on average, would be attributable to the effect of early menarche on age at first pregnancy (indirect effect), which, in turn, affects MetS.
Conclusions: Age at first pregnancy may partially contribute to the association between early menarche and metabolic syndrome among middle-aged and older women who had experienced a pregnancy over their lifetime.
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