Childhood environment influences adrenarcheal timing among first-generation Bangladeshi migrant girls to the UK.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Adrenarche is a key early life event that marks middle childhood at approximately 7 years of age. Earlier work with British-Bangladeshi migrant women suggested that environmental conditions experienced before adrenarche influence adult reproductive function. We therefore investigated whether Bangladeshi children who migrate to the United Kingdom (UK) reach adrenarche earlier than non-migrants in Bangladesh or the United Kingdom.

Methods and findings

Healthy girls, aged 5-16 years, were recruited from schools in Sylhet, Bangladesh and London, England comprising four groups: Sylhetis (n = 165), first-generation migrants to the United Kingdom (n = 42), second-generation girls (n = 162), and British girls of European origin (n = 50). Anthropometric measurements were c

SUBMITTER: Houghton LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4195659 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature