A theory about Menarche and CD. . .

[~Flawed Design~]

I know this is the pregnancy forum, but I thought I'd post my gynecological enquiry here.

I know this is personal but I was wondering when you got your first period (given you have CD).

My theory goes. . . .

At first the medical community believed that only very skinny people had CD, but it turned out that if you are overweight/obese you are more likely to have CD than if you were super skinny. (Your body not getting enough nutrition thinking it is in starvation, storing all sorts of fat etc. etc., I'm sure you know all about it). . . .

Similarly, I've read that girls with CD will likely have very late Menarche . . . . but I am guessing the opposite could be truer. If you are an asymptomatic Celiac, then you will store more fat as a child, and higher body fat has been positively correlated to early menarche. . . . so a CD female child will reach menarche earlier than normal, and not otherwise.

[Fidissimus]

I was really thin as a child/teenager and started my menses late... at age 14.

(Edited to add age)
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Cheers!
Jenn

GF BD: Feb. 2001
Free of wheat, barley, rye, oats, rice, dairy, eggs, almonds, pineapple and brewers yeast.
http://graindamaged.blogspot.com/

[cruelshoes]

I was a normal sized kid and started at 12.
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-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
9-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters have negative bloodwork - so far!

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[ostrich]

I was fairly normal, and started at 13.
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[forinajoy]

Ina was 10...had been on a GF diet about 2 years and was still thin...It was sad because Ina at 10 had the mental ability of about a 5 year old (she has autism)
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Connie, mom to Ina, 13 y/o with CD

[nancw]

I was a heavy kid and started around 13 1/2. FWIW, I developed PCOS (unrecognized until I was 33 ) and had a screwy cycle until laparascopy for cysts same year. I have no doubt that my unrecognized gluten issues contributed to my generally poor reproductive health over the years.

[ostrich]

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but Connie have you seen this?
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Ostrich :>--O==={

I lie below, you float above
In the pretty white ships that I am dreaming of

[aklap]

It'd be interesting to hear Debra's (aka RD/LD] take on this.

Good luck ladies!!

I will now safely retreat to a place with less estrogen
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[nancw]

Wow, Al. Thanks for that link - good to see someone is making these connections. This merits futher investigation.
Do not fear the estrogen!

[Eeyorific]

[RD/LD]

Oh My Gosh,

You guys must of been eavesdropping on my thoughts --I just posted a research article on my research forum this morning about this exact topic. I was asked a question by a pretty well known female Celiac relating to Menopause and Celiacs (lol) but there's plenty of evidence indicating a late start of menarche and early menopause.

Here's a link to the article: http://www.cyclediet.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=768&forum_id=20
I'll post a couple more articles if you'd like more information on the subject.

In case you don't want to register on my support board, here's the abstract:

Several studies have noted women with gluten intolerance and Celiacs have a delayed onset of menstruation and early onset of menopause. Here's one Italian study that might be interesting to you.

J Clin Gastroenterol.1990 Feb;12(1):37-9.

Obstetric and gynecological problems in women with untreated celiac sprue.

Molteni N,
Bardella MT,
Bianchi PA.
Cattedra di Patologia Medica III, University of Milan, Italy.

We investigated the obstetric and gynecological history of 54 consecutive women (aged 16-62 years, median of 35 years) with newly diagnosed celiac sprue and 54 healthy controls matched for age, origin, and sexual behavior. The mean age of menarche was significantly delayed in these untreated patients with respect to controls (13.5 vs. 12.1 years; p less than 0.0001). Of the patients, 38.8% complained of amenorrhea, compared with 9.2% of the controls (p less than 0.001).


Thirty-eight patients and 38 controls were in reproductive age; they had a normal sexual life and did not use contraceptive measures. Five celiacs, but no controls, had repeated abortions (p less than 0.03).


Eight celiacs and six controls were in menopause, the mean age at onset being 45.5 and 49.5 years respectively.


PMID: 2303686 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Debra,
RD/LD

[aklap]

Thanks Deb!!

Nance - the only time I fear the estrogen is when it's latched on my backend
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[forinajoy]

No Os, I had not seen that but thank you loads. That is VERY exciting news...I have been hoping for something like this for years. I have always felt like someday, there would be enough research done and something discovered that would allow us to do some screening on babies and take measures to prevent autism from happening. I think something like the PKU screening that is done on all newborns, if the baby tests positive for PKU then a preventitive diet is followed and the child does not develop mental retardation. My hope is the screening will be developed and parents can take the preventive measures. I had never dared to dream that possibly something could be done to fix autism once it has already occured....very hopeful info there...again thank you!
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Connie, mom to Ina, 13 y/o with CD

[nancw]

Another note on the other end of the temporal spectrum of female reproductive life: for about a year my doctor and I were convinced that I was premenopausal, then I discovered I am gluten intolerant. Since going GF almost every one of my pre-meno symptoms has disappeared (hot flashes, night sweats, dizziness, moodiness, depression, anxiety).
However, since my cycle has shortened and I have a couple of other annoying problems that could be pre-meno related, I'd say that premature onset of menopause may be applicable in my case. Great info Deb - thanks again!

[~Flawed Design~]

Hey! I don't have to be right, it's just a theory. . . should've called it my hypothesis

Anyway, I am so glad I posted it, so much great info.
Thanks everyone, especially RD with the links!
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Suspected Celiac since 2-2-2007.