In a large GWAS meta-analysis comprising over 87,000 women, we identified 30 novel loci for the timing of menarche, and provide evidence for a further 10 possible novel loci. These loci were in/near genes associated with cellular development, body weight regulation, hormonal regulation and with a wide varietyof other biological functions. Previous studies comprising up to 17,510 women had detected only one or two genome-wide significant signals8–11. We now show that those earlier signals at LIN28B and 9q31.2 represented the ‘low-hanging fruit’ with particularly large effect sizes relative to their MAF (Supplementary Fig. 5). The list of functions of those genes nearest to the menarche loci (Supplementary Table 7) and the results of pathway analyses indicate a wide diversity of biological processes that regulate the timing of female pubertal maturation.
