Lifestyle and Lifecourse Epidemiology Group, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
Int J Epidemiol. 2012 Feb;41(1):292-300. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyr163. Epub 2011 Nov 23.
Early puberty often occurs in migrants from less to more economically developed locations, particularly among girls, perhaps because of mismatched inter-generational conditions. However, migrants may differ from their host population in many ways.
In an ethnically homogenous Chinese population in a developed environment, we examined the association of mother's growth environment (proxied by migration status) with age at onset of puberty. We assessed differences by sex and whether associations were independent of intra-uterine growth.
We used interval-censored survival analyses in 3832 boys and 3279 girls (follow-up rate of 92%) from the 'Children of 1997' birth cohort, comprising 88% of births in Hong Kong in April and May 1997, to examine the adjusted association of mother's migration status (born and raised in mainland China or in comparatively more developed Hong Kong), with clinically assessed age at onset of puberty (Tanner stage II for breast/genital and pubic hair development).
Children with mothers from a less developed environment had earlier onset of breast/genital [time ratio (TR) 0.987, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) 0.980-0.993] and pubic hair (TR 0.993, 95% CI 0.986-1.000) development, independent of birth size for gestational age and socio-economic position, possibly with a more marked association in girls.
Mismatch of growth conditions between mothers and children was associated with younger age at onset of puberty. Given the association of early puberty with chronic diseases, inter-generational influences may be relevant to the emerging epidemics of these diseases in rapidly developing populations where age of puberty is declining sharply.
早期青春期通常发生在从欠发达地区到较发达地区的移民中，尤其是女孩，这可能是由于代际条件不匹配所致。然而，移民可能在许多方面与他们的宿主人口不同。
在一个发达环境中的种族同质的中国人群体中，我们研究了母亲的生长环境（通过移民状况来代表）与青春期开始年龄的关联。我们评估了性别差异，以及这些关联是否独立于宫内生长。
我们使用“1997 年儿童”出生队列中的 3832 名男孩和 3279 名女孩（随访率为 92%）的区间censored 生存分析，该队列包括 1997 年 4 月和 5 月香港出生的 88%的婴儿，以检查母亲的移民状况（在内地出生和长大或在相对发达的香港出生和长大）与临床评估的青春期开始年龄（乳房/生殖器和阴毛发育的 Tanner 阶段 II）之间的调整关联。
来自欠发达环境的母亲的孩子青春期开始的时间更早，乳房/生殖器（时间比 0.987，95%置信区间 0.980-0.993）和阴毛（时间比 0.993，95%置信区间 0.986-1.000）的发展，独立于出生时的胎龄和社会经济地位，在女孩中可能存在更明显的关联。
母亲和孩子之间的生长条件不匹配与青春期开始的年龄较小有关。鉴于青春期提前与慢性病有关，代际影响可能与这些疾病在快速发展的人群中迅速出现的流行有关，在这些人群中，青春期的年龄急剧下降。
