Dataset Information

Risk of selection bias due to non-participation in a cohort study on pubertal timing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Non-participation in aetiologic studies of pubertal timing is frequent. However, little effort has been given to explore the risk and potential impact of selection bias in studies of pubertal timing.

Objective

We aimed to explore the risk of selection bias due to non-participation in a newly established puberty cohort.

Methods

We evaluated whether three maternal exposures chosen a priori (pre-pregnancy obesity, smoking, and alcohol drinking during pregnancy) were associated with participation, whether pubertal timing was associated with participation, and whether selection bias influenced the associations between these exposures and pubertal timing. In total, 22 439 children from the Danish National Birth Cohort born 2000-2003 were invited to the Puberty Cohort and 15 819 (70%) participated. Exposures were self-reported during pregnancy. Pubertal timing was measured using a previously validated marker, "the height difference in standard deviations" (HD:SDS), which is the difference between pubertal height and adult height, both in standard deviations. For this study, pubertal height at around 13 years in sons and around 11 years in daughters was obtained from an external database, and adult height was predicted based on parental height reported by mothers.

Results

Participation was associated with most exposures but not with pubertal timing, measured by HD:SDS. The associations between exposures and HD:SDS were comparable for participants only and all invited for participation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the risk of selection bias in aetiologic studies on pubertal timing in the Puberty Cohort appears minimal.

SUBMITTER: Brix N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7754153 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Risk of selection bias due to non-participation in a cohort study on pubertal timing.

Brix Nis N Ernst Andreas A Lauridsen Lea Lykke Braskhøj LLB Parner Erik Thorlund ET Arah Onyebuchi A OA Olsen Jørn J Henriksen Tine Brink TB Ramlau-Hansen Cecilia Høst CH

Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology 20200421 6

<h4>Background</h4>Non-participation in aetiologic studies of pubertal timing is frequent. However, little effort has been given to explore the risk and potential impact of selection bias in studies of pubertal timing.<h4>Objective</h4>We aimed to explore the risk of selection bias due to non-participation in a newly established puberty cohort.<h4>Methods</h4>We evaluated whether three maternal exposures chosen a priori (pre-pregnancy obesity, smoking, and alcohol drinking during pregnancy) were ...[more]

PMID: 32319135

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Project description:BackgroundEarlier age at menarche is an established risk factor for breast cancer. While age at menarche has been fairly stable over the past half-century, age at breast development (thelarche) has continued to decrease. Recently, earlier age at thelarche and a longer time between thelarche and menarche (pubertal tempo) were shown to be associated with increased breast cancer risk. Our objective was to examine how breast cancer risk was associated with pubertal timing and tempo in a prospective US cohort.MethodsWomen ages 35-74 years without a history of breast cancer, but who had a sister previously diagnosed with breast cancer, were enrolled in the Sister Study from 2003 to 2009 (N = 50,884). At enrollment, participants reported their ages at thelarche and menarche. Pubertal tempo was age at menarche minus age at thelarche. We estimated adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each pubertal milestone and risk of breast cancer (invasive or ductal carcinoma in situ) using Cox proportional hazards regression. We examined whether associations between age at thelarche and breast cancer risk were modified by birth cohort, race/ethnicity, weight at age 10, and extent of breast cancer family history, as characterized by a Bayesian score based on first-degree family structure.ResultsDuring follow-up (mean = 9.3 years), 3295 eligible women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Early ages at thelarche (HR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.03-1.46 for < 10 vs. 12-13 years) and menarche (HR = 1.10, 95% CI 1.01-1.20 for < 12 vs. 12-13 years) were positively associated with breast cancer risk. Pubertal tempo was not associated with breast cancer risk (HR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.97-1.02 per 1-year longer tempo). When considering early thelarche (< 10 years) and early menarche (< 12 years) jointly, women with both had a 30% greater risk of breast cancer compared with women with neither risk factor (95% CI 1.07-1.57). The association between age at thelarche and breast cancer risk did not significantly vary by birth cohort, race/ethnicity, childhood weight, or Bayesian family history score.ConclusionsEarlier ages at thelarche and menarche may enhance susceptibility to breast carcinogenesis. Age at thelarche is an important risk factor to consider given secular trends towards earlier development.

Project description:BackgroundPuberty is a critical period for bone mass accrual, and late puberty in boys is associated with reduced bone mass in adult men. The role of variations in pubertal timing within the normal range for adult fracture risk in men is, however, unknown. We, therefore, assessed the association between age at peak height velocity (PHV), an objective measure of pubertal timing, and fracture risk in adult men.Methods and findingsIn the BMI Epidemiology Study Gothenburg, 31,971 Swedish men born between January 1, 1945, and December 31, 1961, with detailed growth data (height and weight) available from centrally archived school healthcare records and the conscription register were followed until December 31, 2016. Age at PHV was calculated according to a modified infancy-childhood-puberty model, and fracture information was retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register. The mean ± SD age at PHV was 14.1 ± 1.1 years. In total, 5,872 men (18.4%) sustained at least 1 fracture after 20 years of age and 5,731 men (17.9%) sustained a non-vertebral fracture after 20 years of age during a mean ± SD follow-up of 37.3 ± 11.7 years. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for birth year and country of origin revealed that age at PHV was associated with the risk of any fracture and non-vertebral fracture. Participants with age at PHV in the highest tertile (after 14.5 years of age) were at greater risk of any fracture (hazard ratio [HR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.22, P < 0.001) and non-vertebral fracture (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.09-1.24, P < 0.001) compared with those with age at PHV in the lowest tertile (at 13.6 years of age or younger). Additional adjustments for birthweight, childhood BMI, adult educational level, and young adult height did not attenuate the associations between age at PHV and adult fracture risk. Limitations of this study include the inability to adjust for important risk factors for fracture, inadequate power to assess the relation between pubertal timing and specific fracture types, and the limited generalizability to other populations.ConclusionsIn this study, we observed that late pubertal timing was associated with increased adult fracture risk in men. These findings suggest that information on pubertal timing might aid in the identification of those men at greatest risk of fracture.

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Dataset Information

Risk of selection bias due to non-participation in a cohort study on pubertal timing.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Risk of selection bias due to non-participation in a cohort study on pubertal timing.

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