Back to Search
Start Over
Menstrual cycle characteristics and steroid hormone, prolactin, and growth factor levels in premenopausal women.
- Source :
-
Cancer causes & control : CCC [Cancer Causes Control] 2017 Dec; Vol. 28 (12), pp. 1441-1452. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Oct 31. - Publication Year :
- 2017
-
Abstract
- Purpose: Menstrual cycle characteristics are markers of endocrine milieu. However, associations between age at menarche and adulthood sex steroid hormone levels have been inconsistent, and data on menstrual characteristics and non-sex steroid hormones are sparse.<br />Methods: We assessed the relations of menstrual characteristics with premenopausal plasma sex steroid hormones, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), prolactin, and growth factors among 2,745 premenopausal women (age 32-52) from the Nurses' Health Study II. Geometric means and tests for trend were calculated using multivariable general linear models.<br />Results: Early age at menarche was associated with higher premenopausal early-follicular free estradiol (percent difference < 12 vs. > 13 years = 11%), early-follicular estrone (7%), luteal estrone (7%), and free testosterone (8%) (all p <subscript>trend</subscript> < 0.05). Short menstrual cycle length at age 18-22 was associated with higher early-follicular total (< 26 vs. > 39 days = 18%) and free estradiol (16%), early-follicular estrone (9%), SHBG (7%), lower luteal free estradiol (- 14%), total (- 6%), and free testosterone (- 15%) (all p <subscript>trend</subscript> < 0.05). Short adult menstrual length was associated with higher early-follicular total estradiol (< 26 vs. > 31 days = 14%), SHBG (10%), lower luteal estrone (- 8%), progesterone (- 9%), total (- 11%) and free testosterone (- 25%), and androstenedione (- 14%) (all p <subscript>trend</subscript> < 0.05). Irregularity of menses at 18-22 was associated with lower early-follicular total (irregular vs. very regular = - 14%) and free estradiol (- 14%), and early-follicular estrone (- 8%) (All p <subscript>trend</subscript> < 0.05). Irregularity of adult menstrual cycle was associated with lower luteal total estradiol (irregular vs. very regular = - 8%), SHBG (- 3%), higher total (8%), and free testosterone (11%) (all p <subscript>trend</subscript> < 0.05).<br />Conclusions: Early-life and adulthood menstrual characteristics are moderately associated with mid-to-late reproductive year's hormone concentrations. These relations of menstrual characteristics with endogenous hormone levels could partially account for associations between menstrual characteristics and reproductive cancers or other chronic diseases.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1573-7225
- Volume :
- 28
- Issue :
- 12
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Cancer causes & control : CCC
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29086892
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-017-0971-2