Plant-Based Diet during the Prepubertal Period and Age at Menarche: A Systematic Review
Article Sidebar
Issue
Vol. 18 No. 1 (2023)
Accepted
3 March 2023
Published
30 March 2023
Keywords:
-
food fiber, menarche, phytoestrogens and isoflavones, plant-based diet, vegetable protein
Abstract
This systematic review aimed to analyze the effect of a prepubertal plant-based diet, through dietary patterns and its nutritional components, on the age at menarche. Systematic searches through Medline (EBSCO), Embase, Health & Medical Collection (Proquest), Scopus, and Google Scholar for articles published between January 2000 and September 2022 in English using the keywords of plant-based diet, age at menarche, and their synonyms identified 673 articles. Articles were screened through titles and abstracts, as well as full-text reviews based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and assessment of research quality using the JBI Critical Appraisal Tools with a JBI cut-off final score of >50%, leaving 12 articles in this systematic review presented in the PRISMA 2020 flowchart. Data analysis was conducted descriptively by comparing findings between articles. Age at menarche/puberty was reported as an outcome of food intake through a vegetarian diet, Mediterranean diet, vegetable protein, phytoestrogens and isoflavones, and dietary fiber. Based on the analysis of each subgroup, the plant-based diet did not consistently influence the incidence of menarche. In conclusion, a plant-based diet does not significantly affect age at menarche when it is accompanied by a balanced intake of energy and macro-micronutrients. The principles of balanced nutrition and the assistance of nutritionists are needed in practicing a plant-based lifestyle, especially for children and adolescents who are still in the developmental stage.
References
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Calcaterra V, Verduci E, Magenes VC, Pascuzzi MC, Rossi V, Sangiorgio A, Bosetti A, Zuccotti G, Mameli C. 2021. The role of pediatric nutrition as a modifiable risk factor for precocious puberty. Life 11(12):1353. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121353
Canelón SP, Boland MR. 2020. A systematic literature review of factors affecting the timing of menarche: The potential for climate change to impact women's health. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(5):6‒13.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051703
Cheng G, Remer T, Prinz-Langenohl R, Blaszkewicz M, Degen GH, Buyken A. 2010. Relation of isoflavones and fiber intake in childhood to the timing of puberty. Am J Clin Nutr 92(3):556-564. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2010.29394
Cheng TS, Sharp SJ, Brage S, Emmett PM, Forouhi NG, Ong KK. 2021. Longitudinal associations between prepubertal childhood total energy and macronutrient intakes and subsequent puberty timing in UK boys and girls. Eur J Nutr 61(1):157‒167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02629-6
Choudhary AK, Jiwane R, Alam T, Kishanrao SS. 2015. Dietary habits and menarche among young female medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 5(5):372‒375. https://doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2015.5.2306201558
Day FR, Elks EC, Murray AW, Ong KK, Perry JR. 2015. Puberty timing associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and also diverse health outcomes in men and women: The UK Biobank study. Sci Rep 5:1‒12. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11208
Duan R, Chen Y, Qiao T, Duan R, Chen M, Zhao L, Gong Y, Cheng G. 2020. Modern dietary pattern is prospectively associated with earlier age at menarche: Data from the CHNS 1997-2015. Nutr 19(1):1‒9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-020-00622-z
Figueroa C, Echeverría G, Villarreal G, Martínez X, Ferreccio C, Rigotti A. 2021. Introducing plant-based Mediterranean diet as a lifestyle medicine approach in Latin America: Opportunities within the Chilean context. Front in Nutr 8:680452. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.680452
Günther ALB, Karaolis-Danckert N, Kroke A, Remer T, Buyken AE. 2010. Dietary protein intake throughout childhood is associated with the timing of puberty. J Nutr 140(3):565‒571. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.109.114934
Hozoori M, Moradi F, Hosseini-zade Z, Kazemian M, Arsang-Jang S. 2017. Age at menarche and its relationship to anthropometric indices in adolescent girls. Int J Pediatr 5(7):5255‒5262.
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Jefferson WN, Patisaul HB, Williams CJ. 2012. Reproductive consequences of developmental phytoestrogen exposure. Reproduction (Cambridge, England) 143(3):247. https://doi.org/10.1530/REP-11-0369
Kang S, Kim YM, Lee JA, Kim DH, Lim JS. 2019. Early menarche is a risk factor for short stature in young Korean females: An epidemiologic study. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol 11:234‒239. https://doi.org/10.4274/jcrpe.galenos.2018.2018.0274
Koo MM, Rohan TE, Jain M, McLaughlin JR, Corey PN. 2002. A cohort study of dietary fibre intake and menarche. Public Health Nutr 5(2):353‒360. https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN2002261
Lacroix AE, Gondal H, Shumway KR, Langaker MD. 2022. Physiology, Menarche. Updated 2. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.
Minelli C, van Der Plaat DA, Leynaert B, Granell R, Amaral AF, Pereira M, Mahmoud O, Potts J, Sheehan NA, Bowden J, Thompson J. 2018. Age at puberty and risk of asthma: A Mendelian randomisation study. Plos Medicine 15(8):e1002634. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002634
Nasiri S, Dolatian M, Tehrani FR, Majd HA, Bagheri A. 2022. The relationship between social determinants of health and girls' age at menarche based on the world health organization model: Path analysis. Heliyon 8(10):e10794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10794
Nugroho FA, Handayani D, Apriani Y. 2015. Asupan protein nabati dan kejadian anemia wanita usia subur vegan. J Gizi Pangan 10(3):165‒170. https://doi.org/10.25182/jgp.2015.10.3.%25p
Petersohn I, Zarate-Ortiz AG, Cepeda-Lopez AC, Melse-Boonstra A. 2019. Time trends in age at menarche and related non-communicable disease risk during the 20th century in Mexico. Nutrients 11(2):1‒12. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020394
PRISMA. 2020. PRISMA: Transparent reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. https://www.prisma-statement.org/documents/PRISMA%20IPD%20checklist.pdf [Accessed 13th October 2022].
Rogers IS, Northstone K, Dunger DB, Cooper AR, Ness AR, Emmett PM. 2010. Diet throughout childhood and age at menarche in a contemporary cohort of British girls. Public Health Nutr 13(12):2052‒2063. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980010001461
Rosell M, Appleby P, Key T. 2005. Height, age at menarche, body weight and body mass index in life-long vegetarians. Public Health Nutr 8(7):870‒875. https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN2005730
Segovia-Siapco G, Pribis P, Messina M, Oda K, Sabaté J. 2014. Is soy intake related to age at onset of menarche? A cross-sectional study among adolescents with a wide range of soy food consumption. Nutrition Journal 13(1):1‒9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-13-54
Šetinc L. 2022. Alternative nutrition: Literature review: Alternativna prehrana. Slov Med J 91(5‒6):242‒254.
Sinai T, Ben-Avraham S, Guelmann-Mizrahi I, Goldberg MR, Naugolni L, Askapa G, Katz Y, Rachmiel M. 2019. Consumption of soy-based infant formula is not associated with early onset of puberty. Eur J Nutr 58(2):681‒687. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1668-3
Sudikno S, Sandjaja S. 2019. Usia menarche perempuan Indonesia semakin muda: Hasil analisis Riskesdas 2010. Jurnal Kesehatan Reproduksi 10(2):163‒171. https://doi.org/10.22435/kespro.v10i2.2568
Sunuwar L, Saha CG, Anupa KC, Upadhyay Dhungel K. 2010. Age at menarche of subpopulation of Nepalese girls. Nepal Med Coll 12(3):183‒186.
Szamreta EA, Qin B, Rivera-Núñez Z, Parekh N, Barrett ES, Ferrante J, Lin Y, Bandera EV. 2020. Greater adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet is associated with later breast development and menarche in peripubertal girls. Public Health Nutr 23(6):1020‒1030. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019002349
Trépanier L, Juster RP, Marin MF, Plusquellec P, Francois N, Sindi S, Wan N, Findlay H, Schramek T, Andrews J, Corbo V 2013. Early menarche predicts increased depressive symptoms and cortisol levels in Quebec girls ages 11 to 13. Dev Psychopathol 25(4pt1):1017‒1027. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000345
Villamor E, Jansen EC. 2016. Nutritional determinants of the timing of puberty. Annu Rev Public Health 37:33‒46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122606
Xiong J, Xu Y, Liu X, Wang X, Shan S, Crabbe MJ, Zhao L, Fang H, Cheng G. 2022. Prospective association of dietary soy and fibre intake with puberty timing: A cohort study among Chinese children. BMC Medicine 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02320-5
Yoo JH. 2016. Effects of early menarche on physical and psychosocial health problems in adolescent girls and adult women. Korean J Pediatr 59(9):355. https://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2016.59.9.355
Barros BDS, Kuschnir MCMC, Bloch KV, Silva TLND. 2019. ERICA: Age at menarche and its association with nutritional status. J Pediatr 95(1):106‒111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jped.2017.12.004
Calcaterra V, Verduci E, Magenes VC, Pascuzzi MC, Rossi V, Sangiorgio A, Bosetti A, Zuccotti G, Mameli C. 2021. The role of pediatric nutrition as a modifiable risk factor for precocious puberty. Life 11(12):1353. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11121353
Canelón SP, Boland MR. 2020. A systematic literature review of factors affecting the timing of menarche: The potential for climate change to impact women's health. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17(5):6‒13.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051703
Cheng G, Remer T, Prinz-Langenohl R, Blaszkewicz M, Degen GH, Buyken A. 2010. Relation of isoflavones and fiber intake in childhood to the timing of puberty. Am J Clin Nutr 92(3):556-564. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.2010.29394
Cheng TS, Sharp SJ, Brage S, Emmett PM, Forouhi NG, Ong KK. 2021. Longitudinal associations between prepubertal childhood total energy and macronutrient intakes and subsequent puberty timing in UK boys and girls. Eur J Nutr 61(1):157‒167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02629-6
Choudhary AK, Jiwane R, Alam T, Kishanrao SS. 2015. Dietary habits and menarche among young female medical students. Natl J Physiol Pharm Pharmacol 5(5):372‒375. https://doi.org/10.5455/njppp.2015.5.2306201558
Day FR, Elks EC, Murray AW, Ong KK, Perry JR. 2015. Puberty timing associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and also diverse health outcomes in men and women: The UK Biobank study. Sci Rep 5:1‒12. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11208
Duan R, Chen Y, Qiao T, Duan R, Chen M, Zhao L, Gong Y, Cheng G. 2020. Modern dietary pattern is prospectively associated with earlier age at menarche: Data from the CHNS 1997-2015. Nutr 19(1):1‒9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-020-00622-z
Figueroa C, Echeverría G, Villarreal G, Martínez X, Ferreccio C, Rigotti A. 2021. Introducing plant-based Mediterranean diet as a lifestyle medicine approach in Latin America: Opportunities within the Chilean context. Front in Nutr 8:680452. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.680452
Günther ALB, Karaolis-Danckert N, Kroke A, Remer T, Buyken AE. 2010. Dietary protein intake throughout childhood is associated with the timing of puberty. J Nutr 140(3):565‒571. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.109.114934
Hozoori M, Moradi F, Hosseini-zade Z, Kazemian M, Arsang-Jang S. 2017. Age at menarche and its relationship to anthropometric indices in adolescent girls. Int J Pediatr 5(7):5255‒5262.
[JBI] Joanna Briggs Institute. 2020. JBI's critical appraisal tools.https://jbi.global/critical-appraisal-tools [Accessed 7th October 2022].
Jefferson WN, Patisaul HB, Williams CJ. 2012. Reproductive consequences of developmental phytoestrogen exposure. Reproduction (Cambridge, England) 143(3):247. https://doi.org/10.1530/REP-11-0369
Kang S, Kim YM, Lee JA, Kim DH, Lim JS. 2019. Early menarche is a risk factor for short stature in young Korean females: An epidemiologic study. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol 11:234‒239. https://doi.org/10.4274/jcrpe.galenos.2018.2018.0274
Koo MM, Rohan TE, Jain M, McLaughlin JR, Corey PN. 2002. A cohort study of dietary fibre intake and menarche. Public Health Nutr 5(2):353‒360. https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN2002261
Lacroix AE, Gondal H, Shumway KR, Langaker MD. 2022. Physiology, Menarche. Updated 2. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.
Minelli C, van Der Plaat DA, Leynaert B, Granell R, Amaral AF, Pereira M, Mahmoud O, Potts J, Sheehan NA, Bowden J, Thompson J. 2018. Age at puberty and risk of asthma: A Mendelian randomisation study. Plos Medicine 15(8):e1002634. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002634
Nasiri S, Dolatian M, Tehrani FR, Majd HA, Bagheri A. 2022. The relationship between social determinants of health and girls' age at menarche based on the world health organization model: Path analysis. Heliyon 8(10):e10794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10794
Nugroho FA, Handayani D, Apriani Y. 2015. Asupan protein nabati dan kejadian anemia wanita usia subur vegan. J Gizi Pangan 10(3):165‒170. https://doi.org/10.25182/jgp.2015.10.3.%25p
Petersohn I, Zarate-Ortiz AG, Cepeda-Lopez AC, Melse-Boonstra A. 2019. Time trends in age at menarche and related non-communicable disease risk during the 20th century in Mexico. Nutrients 11(2):1‒12. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020394
PRISMA. 2020. PRISMA: Transparent reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. https://www.prisma-statement.org/documents/PRISMA%20IPD%20checklist.pdf [Accessed 13th October 2022].
Rogers IS, Northstone K, Dunger DB, Cooper AR, Ness AR, Emmett PM. 2010. Diet throughout childhood and age at menarche in a contemporary cohort of British girls. Public Health Nutr 13(12):2052‒2063. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980010001461
Rosell M, Appleby P, Key T. 2005. Height, age at menarche, body weight and body mass index in life-long vegetarians. Public Health Nutr 8(7):870‒875. https://doi.org/10.1079/PHN2005730
Segovia-Siapco G, Pribis P, Messina M, Oda K, Sabaté J. 2014. Is soy intake related to age at onset of menarche? A cross-sectional study among adolescents with a wide range of soy food consumption. Nutrition Journal 13(1):1‒9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-13-54
Šetinc L. 2022. Alternative nutrition: Literature review: Alternativna prehrana. Slov Med J 91(5‒6):242‒254.
Sinai T, Ben-Avraham S, Guelmann-Mizrahi I, Goldberg MR, Naugolni L, Askapa G, Katz Y, Rachmiel M. 2019. Consumption of soy-based infant formula is not associated with early onset of puberty. Eur J Nutr 58(2):681‒687. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1668-3
Sudikno S, Sandjaja S. 2019. Usia menarche perempuan Indonesia semakin muda: Hasil analisis Riskesdas 2010. Jurnal Kesehatan Reproduksi 10(2):163‒171. https://doi.org/10.22435/kespro.v10i2.2568
Sunuwar L, Saha CG, Anupa KC, Upadhyay Dhungel K. 2010. Age at menarche of subpopulation of Nepalese girls. Nepal Med Coll 12(3):183‒186.
Szamreta EA, Qin B, Rivera-Núñez Z, Parekh N, Barrett ES, Ferrante J, Lin Y, Bandera EV. 2020. Greater adherence to a Mediterranean-like diet is associated with later breast development and menarche in peripubertal girls. Public Health Nutr 23(6):1020‒1030. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019002349
Trépanier L, Juster RP, Marin MF, Plusquellec P, Francois N, Sindi S, Wan N, Findlay H, Schramek T, Andrews J, Corbo V 2013. Early menarche predicts increased depressive symptoms and cortisol levels in Quebec girls ages 11 to 13. Dev Psychopathol 25(4pt1):1017‒1027. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000345
Villamor E, Jansen EC. 2016. Nutritional determinants of the timing of puberty. Annu Rev Public Health 37:33‒46. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122606
Xiong J, Xu Y, Liu X, Wang X, Shan S, Crabbe MJ, Zhao L, Fang H, Cheng G. 2022. Prospective association of dietary soy and fibre intake with puberty timing: A cohort study among Chinese children. BMC Medicine 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02320-5
Yoo JH. 2016. Effects of early menarche on physical and psychosocial health problems in adolescent girls and adult women. Korean J Pediatr 59(9):355. https://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2016.59.9.355
Authors
ChristantiS., & SyafiqA. (2023). Plant-Based Diet during the Prepubertal Period and Age at Menarche: A Systematic Review. Jurnal Gizi Dan Pangan, 18(1), 51-60. https://doi.org/10.25182/jgp.2023.18.1.51-60
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