Early breast development in overweight girls: does estrogen made by adipose tissue play a role?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Girls who are overweight/obese (OB) develop breast tissue but do not undergo menarche (the first menstrual period) significantly earlier than girls of normal weight (NW). It has been proposed that estrogen synthesized by adipose tissue may be contributory, yet OB do not have higher serum estrogen levels than NW matched on breast stage. We hypothesized that estrogen synthesized locally, in mammary fat, may contribute to breast development. This hypothesis would predict that breast development would be more advanced than other estrogen-sensitive tissues as a function of obesity and body fat.

Methods

Eighty premenarchal girls (26 OB, 54 NW), aged 8.2-14.7 years, underwent dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry to calculate percent body fat (%BF), Tanner staging of the brea

SUBMITTER: Carlson L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6774855 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature