Vegetable and lean proteins -based and processed meat and refined grains -based dietary patterns in early childhood are associated with pubertal timing in a sex-specific manner: a prospective study of children from Mexico City

摘要

Childhood diet has been implicated in timing of sexual maturation. A key limitation of published studies is the focus on individual foods rather than patterns. We hypothesized that dietary patterns characterized by fruits and vegetables during early childhood (age 3 y) would be associated with delayed pubertal timing, while energy-dense and meat-based dietary patterns would relate to earlier puberty. The study population included 496 participants of a Mexico City birth cohort. The exposures of interest were dietary patterns derived from principal component analysis of dietary data collected via a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire when the children were 3 y of age, and the outcomes were physician-assessed Tanner stages for pubic hair, breast (girls), genitalia and testicular volume (boys) between 9 and 18 y, and initiation of menarche (girls). In regression analyses, we estimated adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for having reached Tanner stage ≥4 or initiation of menarche in girls, and testicular volume ≥15 mL in boys. Among girls, those in the highest vs. lowest tertile of vegetables and lean proteins pattern had a 35% (95% CI 3% to 67%) lower adjusted probability of having reached breast stage ≥4. Among boys, the processed meat and refined grain pattern score was associated with more advanced testicular development (adjusted HR = 3.58 [0.62 to 6.53] for testicular volume ≥15 mL for highest vs. lowest tertile). Early childhood dietary patterns may play a role in the tempo of sexual maturation, which could ultimately carry implications for chronic disease susceptibility.