Self‐reported history of breastfeeding in relation to recalled age at menarche in the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID19459147
AuthorsClaire L Gold (0009-0006-3005-0983, Department of Anthropology University of Massachusetts Amherst USA, corresponding author), Elizabeth R Bertone‐johnson (0000-0001-9977-9170, University of Massachusetts Amherst), Elizabeth Bertone‐Johnson (Department of Health Promotion and Policy University of Massachusetts Amherst USA)
Year2024
Volume36
Issue8
Pagese24067-e24067
Publication date2024-08-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Human Biology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1042-0533 • E-ISSN: 1520-6300
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajhb.24067
PMID38523370
OpenAlexW4393155646
LanguageEN
References cited29

Menarche is a key life history event that shapes the female reproductive trajectory and is important to the study of human biology because of the associated epidemiological and social consequences later in life. Our question is whether breastfeeding is associated with the variation in timing of menarche. Using data from a college‐aged female student population from Amherst, MA, we examined whether having been breastfed was associated with age at menarche. Of the 340 female participants with information on breastfeeding during infancy, we found that women who were breastfed ( n = 286) had an adjusted mean age of menarche of 12.53 years (SE 0.09), while those who were not breastfed ( n = 54) had an adjusted mean age of menarche of 12.04 years (SE 0.20; p

Breastfeeding · Environmental health · Menarche · Menstruation · Population · Birth, Development, and Health · Demography · Medicine · Menstrual Health and Disorders · Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior · Endocrinology · Epidemiology · Internal Medicine · Pediatrics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access