Age at Menarche, Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics and Risk of Diabetes in Adulthood: Findings from the REACTION Study.

BACKGROUND Age at menarche was reported to be associated with the risk of diabetes. However, the impact of ideal cardiovascular health metrics (ICVHMs) on the association between age at menarche and adulthood diabetes risk remains unclarified. METHODS We included 121431 women from the nationwide, population-based cohort of the REACTION (Risk Evaluation of Cancers in Chinese Diabetic Individuals: A Longitudinal) study. The diagnosis of diabetes was based on the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and HbA1c measurement. Logistic regression and multiplicative interaction analysis were conducted to investigate the potential interaction effect between age at menarche and ICVHMs on the development of diabetes. RESULTS The multivariable-adjusted odds ratios of diabetes across categories of age at menarche ( 17years) were 1.22 (95%CI: 1.17, 1.28), 1.00 (reference), and 0.89 (95%CI: 0.85, 0.93), respectively. In subgroup analysis, significant interactions were detected between total cholesterol, blood pressure levels and age at menarche on the risk of diabetes (P for interaction = 0.0091 and 0.0019, respectively). The increased risk associated with age at menarche <14 years was observed in participants with 3 or fewer ICVHMs, but not in women with 4 or more ICVHMs (P for interaction = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Age at menarche was inversely associated with the risk of diabetes in adulthood in Chinese women, and it appeared to be modified by the presence of ICVHMs. Further studies are needed to clarify the precise interrelationship and the generalizability of our results. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.