The age when girls first menstruate is genetically determined, according to scientists from the UK and the US.
In a study published in Nature Genetics, researchers described as many as 30 gene variants associated with the onset of the first menstruation.
Teenagers start menstruating at different ages. It is known that these differences are related to the risk of developing the disease, incl. for breast cancer and the development of cancer of the uterine epithelium.
Ken Ong of the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, along with colleagues from Boston University, deCode genetics in Iceland and the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry St Luke’s Campus in Exeter analyzed the results of 32 genome studies in terms of the age of women at the time of their first menstrual period. In total, 102 women were included in the study.
Scientists found the presence of 30 genome regions involved in regulating the timing of the onset of the menstrual cycle. Among them there are 4 regions related to the body mass index (BMI), 3 involved in maintaining the energy balance of the body and three affecting the endocrine system. (PAP)