Early-life soy exposure and age at menarche.

Adgent, Margaret A

Daniels, Julie L

Rogan, Walter J

Adair, Linda

Edwards, Lloyd J

Westreich, Daniel

Maisonet, Mildred

Marcus, Michele

England

2012-11-16T18:49:14Z

2012-03

This study examines the timing of menarche in relation to infant-feeding methods, specifically addressing the potential effects of soy isoflavone exposure through soy-based infant feeding. Subjects were participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Mothers were enrolled during pregnancy and their children have been followed prospectively. Early-life feeding regimes, categorised as primarily breast, early formula, early soy and late soy, were defined using infant-feeding questionnaires administered during infancy. For this analysis, age at menarche was assessed using questionnaires administered approximately annually between ages 8 and 14.5. Eligible subjects were limited to term, singleton, White females. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models to assess age at menarche and risk of menarche over the study period. The present analysis included 2920 girls. Approximately 2% of mothers reported that soy products were introduced into the infant diet at or before 4 months of age (early soy). The median age at menarche [interquartile range (IQR)] in the study sample was 153 months [144-163], approximately 12.8 years. The median age at menarche among early soy-fed girls was 149 months (12.4 years) [IQR, 140-159]. Compared with girls fed non-soy-based infant formula or milk (early formula), early soy-fed girls were at 25% higher risk of menarche throughout the course of follow-up (hazard ratio 1.25 [95% confidence interval 0.92, 1.71]). Our results also suggest that girls fed soy products in early infancy may have an increased risk of menarche specifically in early adolescence. These findings may be the observable manifestation of mild endocrine-disrupting effects of soy isoflavone exposure. However, our study is limited by few soy-exposed subjects and is not designed to assess biological mechanisms. Because soy formula use is common in some populations, this subtle association with menarche warrants more in-depth evaluation in future studies.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22324503

1365-3016

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/5992

eng

en_US

Wiley

Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol

10.1111/j.1365-3016.2011.01244.x

Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology

Adolescent

Age Factors

Child

Endocrine Disruptors

European Continental Ancestry Group

Female

Humans

Infant

Infant Formula

Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena

Isoflavones

Kaplan-Meier Estimate

Longitudinal Studies

Male

Menarche

Pregnancy

Prospective Studies

Risk Factors

Soy Milk

Surveys and Questionnaires

Time Factors

United Kingdom

Early-life soy exposure and age at menarche.

Journal article

2

26

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22324503

163

175

2

Duke

Faculty

Published

26