Pubertal timing and growth influences on cardiometabolic risk factors in adult males and females

OBJECTIVEdEarly pubertal onset in females is associated with increased risk for adult obe-sity and cardiovascular disease, but whether this relationship is independent of preceding child-hood growth events is unclear. Furthermore, the association between male puberty and adult disease remains unknown. To clarify the link between puberty and adult health, we evaluated the relationship between pubertal timing and risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in both males and females from a large, prospective, and randomly ascertained birth cohort from Northern Finland. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdPubertal timing was estimated based on pu-bertal height growth in 5,058 subjects (2,417 males and 2,641 females), and the relationship between puberty and body weight, glucose and lipid homeostasis, and blood pressure at age 31 years was evaluated with linear regression modeling. RESULTSdEarlier pubertal timing associated with higher adult BMI, fasting insulin, diastolic blood pressure, and decreased HDL cholesterol in both sexes (P, 0.002) and with higher total serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides in males. The association with BMI and diastolic blood pressure remained statistically significant in both sexes, as did the associatio