Maternal Pre-pregnancy BMI and Reproductive Health of Daughters in Young Adulthood

Saga Elise Mariansdatter, Andreas Ernst, Gunnar Toft, Sjurdur Frodi Olsen, Anne Vested, Susanne Lund Kristensen, Mette Lausten Hansen, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective To investigate the possible associations between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and daughters’ age of menarche and subsequent markers of reproductive health. Methods Nine hundred eighty-five pregnant women (80 %) were enrolled at their routine 30th week examinations in 1988–1989. In 2008, a follow-up questionnaire was completed for 365 daughters (83 %), while 267 daughters (61 %) participated in a subsequent clinical examination. Main outcome measures were age of menarche, reproductive hormone profile, and ovarian follicle count in daughters. Results Daughters of mothers in the highest pre-pregnancy BMI tertile (BMI ≥ 22.0 kg/m2) had an adjusted 4.1 (0.3; 8.0) months earlier menarche compared with the middle tertile group (BMI 20.0–21.9 kg/m2). Among non-users of hormonal contraceptives, daughters of mothers in the highest pre-pregnancy BMI tertile had non-significantly lower dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEAS), estradiol, and free estrogen index (FEI), compared to the middle BMI tertile. This was supported by a sub-analysis using the WHO classification (underweight, BMI 
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2150-2159
Number of pages10
JournalMaternal and Child Health Journal
Volume20
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • BMI
  • Female reproduction
  • Follow-up
  • Menarche
  • Prenatal exposure

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