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Genetic correlation between the ages of menarche and menopause

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Abstract

Using mostly prospective menstrual data from mothers and daughters in the Tremin Trust Menstrual Reproductive History Program, this study produces the first estimates of the genetic correlation between the ages of menarche and menopause. I carried out two separate analyses. Standard regression analysis of 21 mother/daughter dyads with natural menopause yielded a nonsignificant negative mean genetic correlation of r A =−0.139±1.268. Survival analysis/maximum likelihood estimation on a dataset which included an additional 85 dyads with censored observations on daughters (N=106) yielded a nonsignificant positive genetic correlation of r A =0.613±0.587 (p=0.1492). Although a substantial non-zero correlation cannot be ruled out, these estimates suggest there is no genetic correlation between menarche and menopause, in agreement with previous phenotypic findings. As inconclusive as they may be, these estimates also contribute to our understanding of the nature of selection working on the reproductive life span of human females.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, UCLA, 341 Haines Hall, 405 Hilgard Avenue, 90095-1553, Los Angeles, CA

    Jocelyn Scott Peccei

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  1. Jocelyn Scott Peccei
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Correspondence to Jocelyn Scott Peccei.

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Jocelyn Scott Peccei is a Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her principal interest is in the origin and maintenance of menopause, which she has investigated from various perspectives. Dr. Peccei’s current research on menopause focuses on the adaptation versus epiphenomenon question.

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Peccei, J.S. Genetic correlation between the ages of menarche and menopause. Hum Nat 11, 43–63 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-000-1002-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-000-1002-6

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