Using data from rural Bangladesh, we explore the hypothesis that women attain less schooling as a result of social and financial pressure to marry young. We isolate the causal effect of marriage timing using age of menarche as an instrumental variable. Our results indicate that each additional year that marriage is delayed is associated with 0.22 additional year of schooling and 5.6 percent higher literacy. Delayed marriage is also associated with an increase in use of preventive health services. In the context of competitive marriage markets, we use the above results to obtain estimates of the change in equilibrium female education that would arise from introducing age of consent laws.

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Early Marriage, Age of Menarche, and Female Schooling Attainment in Bangladesh

Chronic low-level lead toxicity in the rat. III. An integrated assessment of long-term toxicity with special reference to the kidney

Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we assessed measures of puberty in U.S. girls in relation to blood lead levels to determine whether sexual maturation may be affected by current environmental lead exposure. The study sample included 1,706 girls 8-16 years old with pubic hair and breast development information; 1,235 girls 10-16 years old supplied information on menarche. Blood lead concentrations (range = 0.7-21.7 micro g/dL) were categorized into three levels: 0.7-2.0, 2.1-4.9, and 5.0-21.7 micro g/dL. Sexual maturation markers included self-reported attainment of menarche and physician determined Tanner stage 2 pubic hair and breast development. Girls who had not reached menarche or stage 2 pubic hair had higher blood lead levels than did girls who had. For example, among girls in the three levels of blood lead described above, the unweighted percentages of 10-year-olds who had attained Tanner stage 2 pubic hair were 60.0, 51.2, and 44.4%, respectively, and for girls 12 years old who reported reaching menarche, the values were 68.0, 44.3, and 38.5%, respectively. The negative relation of blood lead levels with attainment of menarche or stage 2 pubic hair remained significant in logistic regression even after adjustment for race/ethnicity, age, family size, residence in metropolitan area, poverty income ratio, and body mass index. In conclusion, higher blood lead levels were significantly associated with delayed attainment of menarche and pubic hair among U.S. girls, but not with breast development.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/3435099

Blood lead levels and sexual maturation in U.S. girls: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994.

Effects of lead (Pb) exposure during gestation and lactation on female pubertal development in the rat.

Chronic low-level lead toxicity in the rat. I. Maternal toxicity and perinatal effects.

It has been noted that lead exposure affects reproduction in male rats. To study the combined effect of Pb and low protein diet on growth and sexual development of young rats, 50 21 day old male Sesco rats were divided into four groups and controlled dietetically. The group receiving low protein plus Pb exhibited a 20% death rate; the group on low protein diet alone exhibited a 10% death rate. Maximal blood Pb concentrations per group were: I (normal protein diet) 0.08 +- 0.02 (ppM +- SEM); II (normal protein + Pb) 0.68 +- 0.06; III (low protein diet) 0.36 +- 0.08 and IV (low protein + Pb) 11.31 +- 0.48. Group IV animals exhibited significant decreases in the weights of testes, prostates and seminal vesicles. No mature sperm were present in either testicles or epididymis. Results indicate a high correlation of infection and retardation of growth and reproduction with the combined effect of Pb exposure and low protein diet. 18 references, 14 figures, 3 tables.

Z. Fahim

Papers

Combined effect of lead and low protein diet on growth, sexual development and metabolism in male rats