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Markers of pubertal timing and leisure-time physical activity from ages 36 to 68 years: findings from a British birth cohort

Elhakeem, A; Cooper, R; Bann, D; Kuh, DJL; Hardy, R; (2017) Markers of pubertal timing and leisure-time physical activity from ages 36 to 68 years: findings from a British birth cohort. BMJ Open , 7 (10) , Article e017407. 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017407. Green open access

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Abstract

Objectives: We aimed to examine associations between markers of pubertal timing and leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) from ages 36 to 68 years in men and women from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development. / Study design: Pubertal timing was ascertained by physicians at age 14–15 years. Boys were grouped, based on their secondary sexual characteristics, as prepubescent, in early-stage puberty, advanced stage puberty or fully mature at age 14–15 years. Girls were grouped as reaching menarche ≤11, 12, 13 or ≥14 years. LTPA was reported at ages 36, 43, 53, 60–64 and 68 years and classified as active or inactive at each age. Associations were examined using standard and mixed-effects logistic regression models. / Results: Of 5362 singleton births recruited, 1499 men and 1409 women had at least one measure of LTPA and data on pubertal timing and selected covariates. When compared with men that were fully mature at age 14–15 years, those that were in advanced stage and early-stage puberty, but not the prepubescent stage, had lower likelihood of LTPA at younger but not older adult ages (p=0.06 for pubertal status-by-age at LTPA interaction in mixed-effects model). For example, fully adjusted ORs of LTPA (vs no LTPA) at ages 36 and 68 years, respectively, for advanced puberty versus fully mature were 0.69 (95% CIs 0.50 to 0.96) and 1.03 (0.72 to 1.47). Age at menarche was not associated with LTPA at any age (pinteraction with age at LTPA=0.9). For example, OR (from mixed-effects model) of LTPA between 36 and 68 years was 1.23 (0.93, 1.63) for menarche at 13 vs ≤11 years. / Conclusions: In a nationally representative study, there was little evidence to suggest that pubertal timing was an important correlate of LTPA between ages 36 and 68 years. Maturity-related variations in adolescents’ LTPA may be transitory and lose importance over time.

Type: Article
Title: Markers of pubertal timing and leisure-time physical activity from ages 36 to 68 years: findings from a British birth cohort
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017407
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017407
Language: English
Additional information: © 2017 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Cardiovascular Science
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10025243
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