A study published in PLOS ONE by Maria Bleil and colleagues from the University of Washington suggests that experiencing puberty earlier than same-age peers may be a mechanism through which childhood risk factors influence adult cardiometabolic health issues. Adverse experiences in childhood are often linked to poor health in adulthood, and earlier onset of puberty is associated with factors such as race, mother’s age at her first period, infant weight gain, childhood obesity, socioeconomic disadvantage, stressful relationships with parents, and other stressful life events. Puberty serves as a link between childhood and adulthood and is sensitive to the child’s environment.
The study involved modeling pubertal timing and health risks in a cohort of women who had participated in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Participants were followed from birth to adolescence (1991-2009) and had an additional follow-up study (2018-2022) when they were ages 26 to 31. Data from the full sample of 655 women were analyzed to examine trajectories of child health and development, as well as social, behavioral, and health status information in adulthood. The authors found that later pubertal onset predicted lower adulthood cardiometabolic risk, and indicators of puberty such as breast development, pubic hair onset, and first period mediated the effects of factors like mother’s age at her first period, race, BMI percentile, and childhood socioeconomic status on adult cardiometabolic risk.
While the study couldn’t prove causation, it provided longitudinal evidence for the role of puberty onset as a pathway linking early life exposures and adulthood cardiometabolic health. The authors suggested that targeting puberty onset may improve health outcomes in at-risk girls. Future studies are needed to replicate these findings and further explore the connections between childhood risk factors, pubertal timing, and adulthood cardiometabolic risks. The timing of pubertal development in girls was identified as an important pathway through which early life risk factors influence cardiometabolic health in adulthood, indicating that efforts to improve cardiometabolic health should consider and potentially target pubertal development and its timing.
In conclusion, the study highlights the significance of puberty onset in the relationship between childhood risk factors and adult cardiometabolic health. Understanding the impact of early life experiences, such as prepubertal body mass index and socioeconomic position, on puberty timing and subsequent health outcomes can inform interventions aimed at improving cardiometabolic health. By targeting puberty onset, it may be possible to address cardiometabolic risk factors at an earlier stage and potentially improve health outcomes in at-risk individuals. Future research should focus on replicating and expanding upon these findings to better understand the mechanisms linking childhood adversity to adult health outcomes.
