Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, HangKong Road 13, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China.
Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Eur J Pediatr. 2020 Oct;179(10):1507-1513. doi: 10.1007/s00431-020-03621-8. Epub 2020 Mar 24.
The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between maternal age at menarche and newborn telomere length which has been linked to lifespan and many age-related diseases. There were 734 mother-newborn pairs recruited from Wuhan Children's Hospital Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Age at menarche was self-reported and categorized into three groups (≤ 12 years, 13 years, and ≥ 14 years). Telomere length in cord blood was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and expressed as the ratio of telomere copy number to single-copy gene number (T/S). The mean age at menarche of 734 mothers was 13.1 (± 1.1) years and the adjusted geometric means in the T/S of newborn telomeres in the three groups were 0.693, 0.721, and 0.748 respectively. Earlier age at menarche (≤ 12 years), compared with later age at menarche ≥ 14 years, was significantly associated with 7.32% (95% CI - 13.70%, - 0.23%) shorter telomere length in offspring after adjusting for potential confounders.Conclusion: Mothers with earlier age at menarche were more likely to give birth newborn with shorter telomere length. Our study provides evidences for the effect of earlier menarche on fetal telomere programming in offspring. What is Known: • Newborn telomere length is considered an indicator of lifespan and health outcomes in later life. • The adverse effects of earlier menarche age to their offspring have been found, but its relationship with newborn telomere length has not been assessed before. What is New: • This is the first study to explore the relationship of maternal menarche age with newborn telomere length. • We provided primary evidence that earlier maternal age at menarche was associated with shorter newborn telomere length.
本研究旨在探讨初潮年龄与新生儿端粒长度之间的关系，端粒长度与寿命和许多与年龄相关的疾病有关。我们从中国湖北省武汉市儿童医院招募了 734 对母婴。初潮年龄由母亲自行报告，并分为三组（≤12 岁、13 岁和≥14 岁）。通过实时定量聚合酶链反应测量脐带血中端粒长度，并表示为端粒拷贝数与单拷贝基因数的比值（T/S）。734 位母亲的平均初潮年龄为 13.1（±1.1）岁，三组新生儿端粒 T/S 的调整几何平均值分别为 0.693、0.721 和 0.748。与晚初潮（≥14 岁）相比，早初潮（≤12 岁）与后代端粒长度缩短 7.32%（95%CI-13.70%，-0.23%）显著相关，调整潜在混杂因素后。结论：初潮年龄较早的母亲更有可能生下端粒长度较短的新生儿。我们的研究为初潮较早对后代胎儿端粒编程的影响提供了证据。已知：• 新生儿端粒长度被认为是寿命和晚年健康结果的指标。• 已经发现初潮年龄较早对其后代有不利影响，但以前尚未评估其与新生儿端粒长度的关系。新发现：• 这是第一项探讨母亲初潮年龄与新生儿端粒长度关系的研究。• 我们提供了初步证据，表明母亲初潮年龄较早与新生儿端粒长度较短有关。
