Later first period tied to childhood factors behind adult health risks
Research presented at ENDO 2026 links later menarche to childhood influences associated with 85 adult diagnoses in UK Biobank data.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
Women who had their first menstrual period later may carry signs of childhood exposures that are linked to a broad range of adult health problems, according to research presented Saturday at ENDO 2026 in Chicago. The findings matter because they suggest some risks seen in adulthood may begin with health or environmental conditions much earlier in life.
The Endocrine Society said the study used data from 165,832 women in the UK Biobank, a large adult health database that includes diagnoses, genetic information and self-reported age at menarche, the first menstrual period.
Researchers led by Dr. Ambreen Sonawalla of Boston Children's Hospital examined whether later menarche could serve as a marker for childhood influences that also affect adult disease risk. The team studied its relationship with 1,295 medical diagnoses recorded in the UK Biobank.
Study looked beyond genetics
The Endocrine Society said the age of menarche can be shifted later by adverse health or environmental factors during childhood. Genetics also affects when menstruation begins, so the researchers accounted for known genetic effects on menarche timing to focus more closely on other influences.
The team used a phenome-wide association study approach, which allowed them to assess many diagnoses at the same time. According to the Endocrine Society, the analysis found evidence that 85 adult diagnoses were affected by childhood influences reflected in later menarche.
Those diagnoses included tobacco use disorder and conditions involving the digestive system, heart, bladder, joints and brain, among others, the Endocrine Society said. The report did not identify the specific childhood exposures responsible for the associations.
Sonawalla said the work expands the number of adult conditions linked to factors from childhood. She said later menarche may be a signal of underlying childhood issues, even though much research attention has focused on early menarche.
Earlier work pointed to heart disease
The new analysis builds on the group's previous research on later menarche and coronary artery disease in women, according to the Endocrine Society. In that work, the researchers found that later timing of the first menstrual period could indicate childhood influences that both delay menarche and raise adult coronary artery disease risk.
In the current work, the researchers tested whether the same idea applied across a wider set of adult health conditions. Their conclusion, as described by the Endocrine Society, is that later menarche may reflect other childhood factors that are more directly tied to later disease risk.
Sonawalla said the findings support a broader view of adult disease, with more attention to conditions and exposures that start in childhood. She also said more research and funding are needed to identify those childhood influences so prevention efforts can target specific aspects of childhood health.
The study was presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. Findings presented at scientific meetings can help guide research, but the Endocrine Society's summary did not state that the analysis had been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.