Modern dietary pattern is prospectively associated with earlier age at menarche: data from the CHNS 1997-2015

Early age at menarche is associated with risk of several chronic diseases. Prospective study on the association between dietary pattern and timing of menarche is sparse. We examined whether dietary patterns prior to the menarche onset were prospectively associated with menarcheal age in Chinese girls.

One thousand one hundred eighteen girls aged 6-13 y in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) with three-day 24-h recalls and information on potential confounders at baseline were included in the study. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis. Age at menarche was self-reported at each survey. Cox proportional hazard regression models were performed to examine the associations of premenarcheal dietary patterns and menarcheal timing. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Three major dietary patterns were identified: modern dietary pattern, animal food pattern, and snack food pattern. After adjustment for age at baseline, region, ethnicity, maternal education level, energy intake at baseline, and body mass index Z-score at baseline, girls in the highest quartile of modern dietary pattern score had a 33% higher probability of experiencing menarche at an earlier age than those in the lowest quartile (HR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.002-1.77, p for trend = 0.03). No significant association was found for the animal food pattern or snack food pattern.

Higher adherence to modern dietary pattern during childhood is associated with an earlier menarcheal age. This association was independent of premenarcheal body size.