Prenatal, newborn and childhood factors and the timing of puberty in boys and girls

Background: Our aim was to determine if prenatal factors, gestational age, birth weight and length, and childhood body mass index (BMI) are associated with the timing of puberty. Methods: Our population-based study comprised 4826 girls and 5112 boys born between 1997 and 2002. Multiple linear regression modeled the relationships between the maternal and child predictors and the age at peak height velocity (PHV). Results: Maternal smoking throughout pregnancy was associated with earlier age at PHV (−1.8 months in girls, 95%CI = −3.2 to −0.3, p = 0.015 and −1.7 months in boys, 95%CI = −3.1 to −0.3, p = 0.016). Older gestational age predicted later age at PHV in boys. One SDS increase in birth weight led to 1.7 months later age at PHV in girls (95%CI = 1.2 to 2.2, p < 0.001) and 0.8 months in boys (95%CI = 0.2 to 1.3, p = 0.005). At the age of 9 years, each increment of BMI by 1 kg/m2 was associated with 1.7 months (95%CI = −1.9 to −1.6, p < 0.001) and 1.3 months (95%CI = −1.4 to −1.1, p < 0.001) earlier age at PHV in girls and boys, respectively. Conclusions: Fetal exposure to smoking can potentially exert enduring effects on pubertal timing. Birth weight and childhood nutritional status are significant determinants of pubertal timing in both sexes. Impact: Maternal smoking was associated with earlier timing of puberty and greater birth weight with later timing of puberty in both girls and boys. Most previous studies have focused on girls and used surveys to assess pubertal development, but we studied both sexes and used the same objective measure (age at peak height velocity) for the timing of puberty. Our study increases knowledge especially regarding factors associated with the timing of puberty among boys. ; Peer reviewed