Heritability of age at menarche in girls from the Fels Longitudinal Study
Abstract
Menarche is the hallmark maturational event of female childhood. Many studies indicated a significant genetic contribution to the timing of the onset of menstruation, but most of these studies were limited by the use of retrospective data and by the use of data from only certain types of relatives (i.e., mothers and daughters, sisters, or twin sisters). The primary goal of this study was to use a modern maximum likelihood quantitative genetic method to estimate the heritability (h 2) of age at menarche, using familial data collected over the course of the 74‐year‐old Fels Longitudinal Study. The secondary goal was to review earlier studies of the heritability of age at menarche. The study of the heritability of age at menarche presented here is unique for two reasons. First, because of the Fels Longitudinal Study's serial design, age‐at‐menarche data were collected prospectively from most participants. Second, because the Fels Longitudinal Study is a family study that has been conducted for decades, age‐at‐menarche data are available from many types of female relatives spanning multiple households and generations. The best‐fitting and most parsimonious quantitative genetic model included provision for a secular decrease in age at menarche, and estimated the h 2 of age at menarche to be 0.49 ± 0.13 (95% confidence interval of h 2, = 0.24–0.73). The results of this study are in general agreement with the findings of most previous studies of genetic influences on age at menarche, and suggest that it is reasonable to consider it well‐established that approximately half the phenotypic variation among girls from developed nations in the timing of menarche is due to genetic factors. Am J Phys Anthropol 128:210‐219, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
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Around 50% of the variance in menarche timing is attributable to genetic factors in twin and extended family studies, largely in populations free of nutritional deprivation.
“estimate that around 50% of the variance in menarche timing is attributable to genetic factors in such settings7”
From Thirty new loci for age at menarche identified by a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (2010) · cites this paper as [7]
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- Authors
- Towne, B., Czerwinski, S. A., Demerath, E. W., Blangero, J., Roche, A. F., & Siervogel, R. M.
- Affiliations
- Wright State University (US)
- Texas Biomedical Research Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Towne, Bradford
- Venue
- American Journal of Physical Anthropology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2005-08-15
- Volume
- 128
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 210-219
- ISSN
- 0002-9483 (ISSN-L)
- 1096-8644
- OpenAlex
- W2044243983
- Cited by
- 252
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 10.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Physical Anthropology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH59490)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD036342, HD-36342, HD12252, HD40377, R01HD012252, R01HD040377)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Keywords
- age at menarche, heritability, Fels Longitudinal Study, quantitative genetics, family data, girls, puberty
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Age Factors, Child, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Menarche, Ohio, Pedigree, Models, Statistical, Confidence Intervals, Likelihood Functions, Age Distribution
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