PRENATAL AND CHILDHOOD EXPOSURES AND AGE AT MENARCHE

产前和儿童时期的暴露以及初潮年龄

• 批准号: 6363419
• 负责人: GAYLE C WINDHAM
• 金额: $ 3.32万
• 依托单位: IMPACT ASSESSMENT, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-03-01 至 2002-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/6363419
• 关键词: adolescence (12-20); alcoholic beverage consumption; alcoholism /alcohol abuse; caffeine; clinical research; early experience; embryo /fetus toxicology; endocrine disorder; female; hormone regulation /control mechanism; human puberty; human subject; longitudinal human study; menstrual cycle; nicotine; passive smoking; precocious puberty; racial /ethnic difference; sex development disorder; tobacco abuse

Hazards posed to the developing fetus and child by exposure to chemical substances are receiving increasing attention. The developmental endpoints examined primarily have been adverse pregnancy outcomes, as well as some consideration of neurobehavioral development. Little is known about normal menstrual function and how it is initiated during adolescence. In this pilot study we propose to examine a measure of sexual development, namely, age at menarche, and its relationship to prenatal exposure to chemical substances including, tobacco smoke, alcohol and caffeine (TAC). Active smoking is a known reproductive hazard during pregnancy and has also been associated with infertility and alterations in hormone excretion levels. Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with fetal growth retardation and neurologic impairment in offspring. Numerous studies have shown effects of alcohol on the endocrine system of adults and there is suggestive evidence it may effect sexual maturation. Known actions of caffeine present plausible mechanisms for alteration of hormonal profiles and an association with delayed time to conception has been reported. Thus all three exposures may possibly affect sexual development via actions on the prenatal hormonal milieu or the developing nervous system. The proposed pilot study would make use of a large data base of pregnancies ascertained in the early 1960's. Subjects of this study will be the 1000 daughters followed through childhood and adolescence, at which time age at menarche was ascertained. Extensive data was collected prospectively on prenatal exposures, as well as on potential confounders. A number of important exposures and conditions of childhood were also ascertained prospectively, including parental cigarette smoking, childhood behaviors, and growth. With these data we propose to examine whether in utero exposure to TAC or childhood exposure to parental smoking are related to perturbations in age at menarche. Early age at menarche has been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, thus alteration in menarcheal age may serve as a sentinel of other adverse effects on children's and women's health. Such data will be valuable in designing further studies of the reproductive process and growth and development in relation to early life exposures.

接触化学物质对发育中的胎儿和儿童造成的危害正受到越来越多的关注。研究的发育终点主要是不良妊娠结局，以及神经行为发育的一些考虑因素。关于正常的月经功能以及它是如何在青春期开始的，人们知之甚少。在这项初步研究中，我们建议检查性发育的一个指标，即月经初潮年龄，以及它与产前接触化学物质(包括烟草烟雾、酒精和咖啡因)的关系。在怀孕期间，主动吸烟是一种已知的生殖危害，也与不孕不育和激素分泌水平的变化有关。产前酒精暴露与胎儿发育迟缓和后代的神经损伤有关。大量研究表明，酒精对成年人的内分泌系统有影响，而且有暗示的证据表明，酒精可能会影响性成熟。已知咖啡因的作用为荷尔蒙特征的改变提供了可信的机制，并与延迟受孕时间有关已有报道。因此，所有这三种暴露都可能通过对产前荷尔蒙环境或发育中的神经系统的影响来影响性发育。这项拟议的初步研究将利用上世纪60年代初确定怀孕的大型数据库S。这项研究的对象将是1,000个女儿，从童年到青春期，确定月经初潮的年龄。前瞻性地收集了大量关于产前暴露以及潜在混杂因素的数据。一些重要的童年暴露和条件也被前瞻性地确定，包括父母吸烟、童年行为和成长。根据这些数据，我们建议检查宫内接触TAC或儿童时期接触父母吸烟是否与月经初潮年龄的扰动有关。月经初潮早期与乳腺癌风险增加有关，因此月经初潮年龄的改变可能是对儿童和妇女健康的其他不利影响的前哨。这些数据将对设计与早期生命暴露有关的生殖过程和生长发育的进一步研究很有价值。