Menarche is a key life history event that shapes the female reproductive trajectory and is important to the study of human biology because of the associated epidemiological and social consequences later in life. Our question is whether breastfeeding is associated with the variation in timing of menarche. Using data from a college‐aged female student population from Amherst, MA, we examined whether having been breastfed was associated with age at menarche. Of the 340 female participants with information on breastfeeding during infancy, we found that women who were breastfed (n = 286) had an adjusted mean age of menarche of 12.53 years (SE 0.09), while those who were not breastfed (n = 54) had an adjusted mean age of menarche of 12.04 years (SE 0.20; p < 0.03). We propose further research that explores a finer distinction between formula‐fed, mixed‐fed or predominantly breastfed infants, duration of breastfeeding and age at menarche.

中文翻译：

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美国自我报告的母乳喂养史与回忆初潮年龄的关系

月经初潮是一个关键的生命史事件，它塑造了女性的生殖轨迹，并且由于其在以后的生活中相关的流行病学和社会后果，对人类生物学的研究很重要。我们的问题是母乳喂养是否与初潮时间的变化有关。我们利用马萨诸塞州阿默斯特大学女学生群体的数据，研究了母乳喂养是否与初潮年龄有关。在 340 名了解婴儿期母乳喂养信息的女性参与者中，我们发现母乳喂养的女性（n= 286）的调整后平均初潮年龄为 12.53 岁（SE 0.09），而那些没有母乳喂养的人（n= 54）调整后的平均初潮年龄为 12.04 岁（SE 0.20；p< 0.03）。我们建议进一步研究，探索配方奶喂养、混合喂养或主要母乳喂养婴儿、母乳喂养持续时间和初潮年龄之间的更细微区别。