Abstract
The abnormal timing of pubertal development is a risk factor for addictive disorders among adolescents. However, whether the precocious or late puberty has influence on addiction in adults remains unclear. Based on the data of 336,398 European participants in the UK Biobank, we explored the associations between secondary sexual characteristics (SSCs) outset time abnormality and addiction with observational analyses. Linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) was conducted to test for the genetic correlation between them. For significant genetic associations, two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were further performed for causal inferences. The genetic instruments were derived from genome-wide association studies of early menarche (N = 165,862), late first facial hair grows (N = 141,210) and late voice broke (N = 138,461). Observational analyses detected several significant associations between SSCs outset time abnormality and addiction, such as early menarche vs addiction to any substance or behavior (OR = 1.37, PFDR = 3.31 × 10−4) and late first facial hair grows vs alcohol addiction (OR = 1.24, PFDR = 2.40 × 10−15). MR analyses found genetically predicted early menarche was causally associated with higher risk of tobacco addiction (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.15-1.58, PIVW = 0.0002) and addiction to any substance or behavior (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.12-1.73, PIVW = 0.003). Our findings suggest the prevention and treatment for precocious puberty might be protective factors for addiction in female adults. Early preventive interventions for addictive behaviors are needed for females at high risk.</p>