The role of intergenerational influences on age at menarche has not been explored far beyond the association between mothers'and daughters'menarcheal ages. Small size at birth and childhood obesity have been associated with younger age at menarche, but the influence of maternal overweight or obesity on daughters'age at menarche has not been thoroughly examined. We followed girls who were born as subjects in the Philadelphia and Providence centers of the Collaborative Perinatal Project (daughters were born 1959-66) in 1987. As part of the follow up they were asked their age at menarche Compared with those whose mothers had a BMI less than 25, daughters of obese mothers experienced younger age at menarche (OR for menarche at

Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
23
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$34,430
Indirect Cost
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Keim, Sarah A; Branum, Amy M; Klebanoff, Mark A et al. (2009) Maternal body mass index and daughters' age at menarche. Epidemiology 20:677-81