Childhood conditions influence adult progesterone levels.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Average profiles of salivary progesterone in women vary significantly at the inter- and intrapopulation level as a function of age and acute energetic conditions related to energy intake, energy expenditure, or a combination of both. In addition to acute stressors, baseline progesterone levels differ among populations. The causes of such chronic differences are not well understood, but it has been hypothesised that they may result from varying tempos of growth and maturation and, by implication, from diverse environmental conditions encountered during childhood and adolescence.

Methods and findings

To test this hypothesis, we conducted a migrant study among first- and second-generation Bangladeshi women aged 19-39 who migrated to London, UK at different points in

SUBMITTER: Nunez-de la Mora A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1868040 | biostudies-literature | 2007 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature