Table 3.
Adjusted associations between dietary intake of selenium (below RDA vs. above RDA) and physician-assessed secondary sex characteristics in girls at age 10–18 years.
| Variable | Pubic Hair a | Breast a | Menarche b | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OR (95% CI) | p-Value | OR (95% CI) | p-Value | HR (95% CI) | p-Value | |
| Dietary intake of selenium (below RDA vs. above RDA) | 0.98 (0.52, 1.86) | 0.951 | 1.34 (0.70, 2.57) | 0.377 | 0.90 (0.62, 1.33) | 0.606 |
| Child Age | 2.40 (2.06, 2.80) | <0.0001 | 2.52 (2.13, 2.97) | <0.0001 | - | |
| Child BMI z-score | 1.35 (1.10, 1.64) | 0.004 | 1.49 (1.21, 1.84) | 0.000 | 1.22 (1.08, 1.36) | 0.001 |
| Number of siblings at birth | 0.94 (0.73, 1.22) | 0.658 | 0.99 (0.77, 1.29) | 0.975 | 0.86 (0.74, 1.00) | 0.046 |
| Maternal age | 1.03 (0.98, 1.08) | 0.179 | 0.99 (0.95, 1.05) | 0.883 | 1.00 (0.97, 1.03) | 0.917 |
| Maternal marital status (reference: single) | 0.46 (0.27, 0.79) | 0.004 | 0.49 (0.28, 0.84) | 0.010 | 0.76 (0.56, 1.03) | 0.073 |
| Maternal smoking history (reference: never) | 1.24 (0.77, 1.99) | 0.371 | 1.06 (0.65, 1.72) | 0.825 | 1.15 (0.87, 1.52) | 0.340 |
| Household socioeconomic status (reference: lower class) |
||||||
| Middle class | 1.19 (0.71, 2.02) | 0.694 | 1.58 (0.92, 2.72) | 0.857 | 0.78 (0.57, 1.07) | 0.129 |
| Upper class | 1.84 (0.58, 5.76) | 0.347 | 2.83 (0.86, 9.35) | 0.160 | 0.96 (0.51, 1.82) | 0.910 |
CI, confidence interval; HR, hazard ratio; OR, odds ratio; RDA, Recommended Dietary Allowance. a For pubic hair and breast, all estimates are from ordinal regression models. For testicular volume, all estimates are from logistic regression models. All models adjusted for child age and BMI z-score, number of siblings at birth, maternal age, marital status and smoking history, and household socioeconomic status. b All estimates are from Cox proportional-hazard models adjusted for child BMI z-score, number of siblings at birth, maternal age, marital status and smoking, and household socioeconomic status.