Reported early family environment covaries with menarcheal age as a function of polymorphic variation in estrogen receptor-α

AbstractAge at menarche, a sentinel index of pubertal maturation, was examined in relation to early family relationships (conflict, cohesion) and polymorphic variation in the gene encoding estrogen receptor-α (ESR1) in a midlife sample of 455 European American women. Consistent with prior literature, women who reported being raised in families characterized by close interpersonal relationships and little conflict tended to reach menarche at a later age than participants reared in families lacking cohesion and prone to discord. Moreover, this association was moderated byESR1variation, such that quality of the family environment covaried positively with menarcheal age among participants homozygous for minor alleles of the twoESR1polymorphisms studied here (rs9304799, rs2234693), but not among women of otherESR1genotypes. In addition, (a) family relationship variables were unrelated toESR1variation, and (b) genotype-dependent effects of childhood environment on age at menarche could not be accounted for by personality traits elsewhere shown to explain heritable variation in reported family conflict and cohesion. These findings are consistent with theories of differential susceptibility to environmental influence, as well as the more specific hypothesis (by Belsky) that girls differ genetically in their sensitivity to rearing effects on pubertal maturation.

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Early menarche and its relationship to paternal migrant work among middle-school-aged students in China

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932019000300 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 108-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bingzheng Zhang ◽

Ting Yu ◽

Qiuxing Chen ◽

Kaye Wellings ◽

Theresa M. Oniffrey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Paternal Care ◽

Critical Role ◽

Age At Menarche ◽

Early Menarche ◽

Menarcheal Age ◽

Migrant Work ◽

Timing Of Menarche

AbstractAssociations have been shown between father’s absence and menarcheal age, but most studies have focused on absence resulting from divorce, abandonment or death. Little research has been conducted to evaluate the effect on menarcheal age of paternal absence through migrant work. In a sample of 400 middle school students, this study examined the association between paternal migrant work and menarcheal age against a backdrop of extensive rural-to-urban migration in China. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire, including social-demographic characteristics, aspects of family relationships, information about father’s migrant work and age at menarche. After adjusting for BMI, parent marital status and perceived relationship with mother, lower self-perceived quality of father–daughter relationship (both ‘father present, relationship poor’ and ‘father absent, relationship poor’) and lower frequency of contact with the father were associated with higher odds for early menarche. These findings suggest that the assumption that father’s absence for work influences the timing of menarche needs to be examined in the context of the quality of the father–daughter relationship and paternal care, which appear to play a critical role in the timing of menarche. These findings also emphasize the importance of enhancing paternal involvement and improving father–daughter relationships in the development of appropriate reproductive strategy in daughters.

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Genetic moderation of effects of maternal sensitivity on girl's age of menarche: Replication of the Manuck et al. study

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579414000856 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 747-756 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Sarah Hartman ◽

Keith F. Widaman ◽

Jay Belsky

Keyword(s):

Estrogen Receptor ◽

Model Fitting ◽

Maternal Sensitivity ◽

Estrogen Receptor Α ◽

Environment Interaction ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Rearing Environment ◽

Menarcheal Age ◽

Gene Environment ◽

Age Of Menarche

AbstractManuck, Craig, Flory, Halder, and Ferrell (2011) reported that a theoretically anticipated effect of family rearing on girls' menarcheal age was genetically moderated by two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the estrogen receptor-α gene. We sought to replicate and extend these findings, studying 210 White females followed from birth. The replication was general because a different measure of the rearing environment was used in this inquiry (i.e., maternal sensitivity) than in the prior one (i.e., family cohesion). Extensions of the work included prospective rather than retrospective measurements of the rearing environment, reports of first menstruation within a year of its occurrence rather than decades later, accounting for some heritability of menarcheal age by controlling for maternal age of menarche, and using a new model-fitting approach to competitively compare diathesis–stress versus differential-susceptibility models of Gene × Environment interaction. The replication/extension effort proved successful in the case of both estrogen receptor-α SNPs, with the Gene × Environment interactions principally reflecting diathesis–stress: lower levels of maternal sensitivity predicted earlier age of menarche for girls homozygous for the minor alleles of either SNP but not for girls carrying other genotypes. Results are discussed in light of the new analytic methods adopted.

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Never far from home: A cognitive-affective model of the impact of early-life family relationships on physiological stress responses in adulthood

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/0265407506062466 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 189-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Linda J. Luecken ◽

Bradley M. Appelhans ◽

Amy Kraft ◽

Ana Brown

Keyword(s):

Family Environment ◽

Family Relationships ◽

Stress Responses ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Physiological Reactivity ◽

Cognitive Responses ◽

Environmental Challenges ◽

Vulnerability To Stress ◽

The Impact ◽

Early Family

An emerging line of research suggests that characteristics of the early family environment such as parent–child relationships, parental affection, and family conflict may contribute to vulnerability to stress-related illnesses in adulthood. An important long-term mechanism linking early family experiences to risk of illness later in life may lie in the ability to regulate physiological responses to environmental challenges. The current study provides evidence from our research program supportive of a cognitive-affective model in which it is proposed that family-of-origin relationships influence the development of emotional and cognitive responses to environmental challenges that influence physiological reactivity patterns, and ultimately impact vulnerability to stress-related illnesses later in life.

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