Abstract
Objective: Early menarche is associated with uterine fibroid risk, but the association between menarcheal timing and fibroid severity remains to be explored. Given the hormonal dependence of fibroids, earlier menarche may increase physical burden (e.g., number of fibroids) and/or symptoms (e.g., heavy menstrual bleeding), though the two are not always correlated. We hypothesized that individuals with earlier menarche are more likely to have severe fibroids. Design: We analyzed observational data using linear regression models to examine the association between earlier age at menarche and fibroid severity. Subjects: Individuals seeking hysterectomy (n = 110) for fibroid management at a hospital in Washington, D.C. from 2014 to 2021 as part of the Fibroids, Observational Research on Genes and the Environment study. Exposure: Participants recalled age at menarche during adulthood. We modeled age at menarche continuously, and we defined early menarche as menarche before 12 years in descriptive analyses. Main Outcome Measures: We evaluated three types of fibroid severity outcomes: self-reported symptoms using validated scales, clinical parameters (e.g., fibroid number and size), and age at hysterectomy. Results: In our predominantly Black sample, early menarche (i.e., <12 years) was reported by 25.5% (28/110) of participants. In adjusted linear models, earlier menarche was associated with increased symptom severity [b = -3.3 (95% CI: -6.05, -0.56)], younger age at hysterectomy [b = 0.8 (95% CI: 0.2, 1.41)], and uterine weight over 250 g (compared with ≤250 g) [b = -0.05 (95% CI: -0.11, -0.00)], but not with other measures of physical fibroid burden. Conclusion: Earlier menarche was associated with measures of fibroid severity. Prolonged exposure to estrogen via early menarche may accelerate the tumorigenesis process. Patient-reported symptoms as well as measures of physical burden should be considered when investigating the etiology of fibroid-related morbidity.