Puberty onset can predict diseases later in life, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that men and women who begin puberty early or late have a 50 percent higher risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and "poor overall health," The Telegraph reported.

"Up until now, the link between early puberty and risk of disease has been blamed on weight and obesity, but our findings suggests that men and women of a normal weight who go through puberty relatively early or late may also carry these risks," Felix Day, lead author of the study, said in a statement.

Day and his team also found that men and women in the earliest or latest 20 percent to go through puberty had a greater risk of developing a disease later in life compared to those in the middle.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from nearly half a million people. Women were asked to recall their puberty-timing by remembering the age of their first monthly period, and men were asked to remember when their voice started breaking.

Women who began their period between the ages 8 and 11 years old were classed as early bloomers, while those who did so between the ages 15 and 19 were classed as late, The Guardian reported. Men reported that they were "relatively younger" or relatively older" when their voice broke.

Their results not only confirmed previous findings that linked early puberty in women to heart disease and diabetes, it also showed that early puberty in men also influenced these same conditions. They also found new linked between pubertal timing and 48 different health conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, glaucoma, psoriasis and depression, BBC News reported.

"We are continuing to work to understand how puberty timing impacts later health and how this information may be used alongside efforts to support healthy lifestyle changes and prevent disease," researcher John Perry said in a statement. "It is important to note that the increase in disease risk attributable to puberty timing is still relatively modest and represents one of many factors that contribute to the overall risk of developing disease."

The findings are detailed in the journal Scientific Reports.