Descriptive statistics from Sibling relatedness rather than father absence predicts earlier age at menarche in ELSPAC cohort

Many studies during the past 50 years have found an association between father absence and earlier menarche. In connection with these findings, several evolutionary theories assume that father absence is a causal factor accelerating reproductive development. However, a recent study analysing data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) found that father absence does not predict age at menarche when adjusted for sibling relatedness. In this study, we have replicated these results in the Czech section of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ELSPAC), which used the same questionnaires as ALSPAC to study a geographically distinct population. Our results support the conclusion that sibling relatedness rather than father absence predicts age at menarche. Furthermore, our results show that age at menarche in 1990s UK and Czech cohorts is very similar despite socioeconomic differences between the two countries.

过去50年间的多项研究均发现，父亲缺位与月经初潮（menarche）提前存在相关性。基于上述发现，数种进化论理论提出，父亲缺位是加速生殖发育的因果性影响因素。然而，近期一项基于雅芳父母与儿童纵向研究（Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, ALSPAC）数据开展的分析研究发现，在对同胞亲缘关系进行校正后，父亲缺位无法预测月经初潮年龄。本研究依托欧洲妊娠与儿童纵向研究（European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood, ELSPAC）的捷克子队列展开，该队列采用与ALSPAC一致的调查问卷，针对地理分布特征迥异的人群开展研究，我们在此队列中重复验证了上述研究结果。本研究结果支持如下结论：预测月经初潮年龄的核心影响因素为同胞亲缘关系，而非父亲缺位。此外，本研究结果还显示，尽管英国与捷克两国存在社会经济层面的差异，但两国1990年代出生队列的月经初潮年龄极为相近。