Currently, fatty liver affects approximately 30% of the world’s population. It is estimated that by 2030, the incidence of liver cancer associated with fatty liver will increase by 137% and that of liver cirrhosis by 168%, along with an increase in deaths (178%).
Menarche, the age at which a woman has her first menstrual period, represents a significant physical change and occurs at the end of puberty. In the last 20 years, a significant decrease has been observed in the age at which puberty begins and, consequently, in the age at which menarche begins, from 12.1 years in 1995 to 11.9 years in 2013-2017. It is known that women with early menarche (before age 10) have premature exposure to the hormone estrogen, and this can influence fat distribution and the development of fatty liver.
A study was published in the journal Experimental Gerontology, which aimed to understand the relationship between age at menarche and the risk of fatty liver. The study included 2,730 women, with a mean age of 49 years, and 1,110 of them (39%) had fatty liver. The participants were classified into different subgroups depending on the age at which they reached menarche (<10, 11, 12, 13, and >14 years). It was found that for each additional year of menarche, the incidence of fatty liver decreased by 15%. The group of women with the latest menarche (after age 14) had a 68% lower risk of developing fatty liver than women in the earliest menarche group (under age 10). In summary, these findings suggest that early menarche is an important risk factor for the development of fatty liver.
Dr. Carreño and the Foundation’s doctors believe that these data should be taken into account and should be included among the risk factors for fatty liver. Thus, in cases of early menarche, preventive strategies could be developed, such as regular weight monitoring along with liver evaluation (blood tests, ultrasound), although this needs to be confirmed with prospective studies.
