Early and late menarche are associated with oligomenorrhea and predict metabolic syndrome 26 years later

ObjectiveWe determined whether simple, clinical information on late and early menarche could help identify adult women with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and oligomenorrhea.Materials/MethodsWe carried out a 26-year prospective follow-up of 272 suburban schoolgirls from ages 5–22 to 30–46.ResultsEarly menarche (≤ 10 years, 5.2% of girls) and late menarche (≥ 16 years, 6.7% of girls) were both associated with oligomenorrhea (≥ 42 days) in adulthood, 29% and 11%, vs. 5% for normal menarche (11–15 years), p = .004. Early menarche was characterized by high childhood BMI (LS mean ± SE: 21.2 ± 1.0 kg/m2) and by high childhood and adult MetS (15%, 36%). Girls with late menarche had the lowest childhood BMI (18.1 ± 1.0), no childhood MetS, and the highest adult MetS (47%). Increasing age at menarche was associated with uniformly decreasing childhood BMI and MetS, but with a U-shaped pattern of BMI (p = .05), MetS (p = .008), and oligomenorrhea (p = .02) in adulthood. Change to MetS from median ages 13 to 38 was associated with early–late menarche (OR = 3.11, 95% CI 1.37–7.07, p = .007). MetS in adulthood was associated with childhood MetS (OR = 8.03, 95% CI 2.57–25.08, p = .0003) and with early–late menarche (OR = 3.43, 95% CI 1.44–8.15, p = .005).ConclusionsMenarche age had a curvilinear (‘U’ shaped) relationship with MetS and oligomenorrhea in adulthood. Late menarche and early menarche are risk factors for adult oligomenorrhea, MetS, and cardiometabolic abnormalities. Girls with early (≤ age 10) and with late menarche (≥ 16) represent a group at high risk for adult cardiometabolic abnormalities and oligomenorrhea that is easily identifiable by physicians.