Original article
Father Absence, Body Mass Index, and Pubertal Timing in Girls: Differential Effects by Family Income and Ethnicity

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.07.032Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Numerous studies show associations between father absence and girls' early puberty. However, most research has been retrospective, focused on menarche, and failed to consider body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, and income in the analyses. This study resolves these scientific gaps.

Methods

This was a prospective study of 444 girls aged 6–8 years and their caregivers (96% mothers). Data were collected annually in clinic, including weight, height, and Tanner stage for breast and pubic hair. Caregivers reported on father absence and demographics. This report focuses on the assessment of father absence at baseline and 2 years of follow-up for pubertal outcomes. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to test whether father absence at baseline predicted pubertal onset by follow-up visit 2. BMI was assumed to be in the causal pathway. Differences by ethnicity and income were examined.

Results

Income and ethnicity moderated associations between father absence and pubertal onset when adjusting for BMI. Father absence predicted earlier onset of breast development only in higher-income families and onset of pubic hair development only in higher-income African Americans families. BMI was not related to father absence and therefore was not in the causal pathway.

Conclusion

Among girls from higher-income families, father absence was linked to earlier puberty. This was particularly true for African Americans in terms of pubic hair development. These effects are not explained by body weight. Future research is needed to identify social and biophysiological mechanisms through which father absence, ethnicity, and income affect the pubertal onset.

Section snippets

Current study

We used data from a prospective study of ethnically diverse girls to test whether father absence predicts pubertal markers that occur before menarche (i.e., thelarche, pubarche). The activation of the gonadal axis is linked to fat deposition; therefore, we predicted that BMI would mediate the effect of father absence on thelarche, but not pubarche. We expected father absence to directly influence pubarche, which would lend mechanistic support to the hormonal stress response related to the

Methods

This project was carried out as part of the NIEHS/NCI Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers, four centers with transdisciplinary research collaborations across biologic, epidemiologic, and community outreach projects [21]. The present investigation focused on one epidemiologic project, the Cohort Study of Young Girls' Nutrition, Environment, and Transitions. Study approval was obtained by Institutional Review Boards of participating universities and Kaiser Permanente of Northern

Preliminary analyses

Median age at baseline was 7.4 years (Table 1). The age distribution was similar across ethnic groups. Of the 444 participants, 80 (18%) reported absence of their biological father at baseline. Of these 80 participants, 21% (n = 17) reported other males in the household, including stepfathers (n = 12) and other nonrelated adult males (n = 5). Analyses were run with and without these 17 participants to ensure that findings were because of father absence and not other males. Results were

Discussion

This is the first known study to prospectively examine the effects of father absence on breast and pubic hair development, while taking into account BMI, ethnicity, and income. Findings indicated that father absence in higher-income, but not lower-income families resulted in girls exhibiting earlier pubertal onset than those from father-present homes. Despite the evidence that the secular trend in pubertal timing among girls in United States is largely influenced by body weight, our results

Acknowledgments

This research was made possible by the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers grant number U01 ES/CA 012801 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS. This research was also supported by a training grant, K12 HD 052163, awarded to the first author from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Office of Research on Women's Health, NIH, DHHS. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the

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