The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood
Abstract Aims Girls who experience an earlier onset of menarche than their peers are at increased risk of depressive symptoms in mid-adolescence, but it is unclear if this association persists into adulthood. This study examines whether longitudinal patterns of depressive symptoms from adolescence t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2045796023000707/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797671827979370496 |
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| author | C. Prince C. Joinson A. S. F. Kwong A. Fraser J. Heron |
| author_facet | C. Prince C. Joinson A. S. F. Kwong A. Fraser J. Heron |
| author_sort | C. Prince |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract
Aims
Girls who experience an earlier onset of menarche than their peers are at increased risk of depressive symptoms in mid-adolescence, but it is unclear if this association persists into adulthood. This study examines whether longitudinal patterns of depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood vary according to timing of menarche.
Methods
About 4,864 female participants in the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children provided data on age at onset of menarche (assessed in repeated questionnaires from 8 to 17 years) and depressive symptoms across nine time points (13 to 26 years) using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. We compared patterns of depressive symptoms in girls with ‘early’ (<11.5 years), ‘normative’ (11.5 to 13.5 years) and ‘late’ (≥13.5 years) menarche using a linear spline multilevel growth curve model adjusted for indicators of socioeconomic position, father absence and body mass index.
Results
Early, compared with normative, menarche was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms at age 14 (imputed adjusted estimated difference = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.44, 1.45), but the association attenuated at 24 years (0.24 [−0.72, 1.19]). Late menarche, compared with normative, was associated with a lower level of depressive symptoms at age 14 (−0.69 [−1.10, −0.29]), but this association also attenuated at 24 years (−0.15 [−0.92, 0.62]).
Conclusions
This study did not find a persistent effect of early menarche, compared to normative, on depressive symptoms. However, our findings are consistent with the level of depressive symptoms increasing at the onset of menarche irrespective of timing. The late onset girls ‘catch up’ with their peers who experience menarche earlier in terms of depressive symptoms. Future studies should continue to assess the impact of timing of menarche further into adulthood.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:21:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a63eb15cb7e44d928b13dc9ba9a2bc2f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7960 2045-7979 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:21:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a63eb15cb7e44d928b13dc9ba9a2bc2f2023-09-28T06:28:14ZengCambridge University PressEpidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences2045-79602045-79792023-01-013210.1017/S2045796023000707The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthoodC. Prince0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5614-9707C. Joinson1A. S. F. Kwong2A. Fraser3J. Heron4MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKAbstract Aims Girls who experience an earlier onset of menarche than their peers are at increased risk of depressive symptoms in mid-adolescence, but it is unclear if this association persists into adulthood. This study examines whether longitudinal patterns of depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood vary according to timing of menarche. Methods About 4,864 female participants in the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children provided data on age at onset of menarche (assessed in repeated questionnaires from 8 to 17 years) and depressive symptoms across nine time points (13 to 26 years) using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. We compared patterns of depressive symptoms in girls with ‘early’ (<11.5 years), ‘normative’ (11.5 to 13.5 years) and ‘late’ (≥13.5 years) menarche using a linear spline multilevel growth curve model adjusted for indicators of socioeconomic position, father absence and body mass index. Results Early, compared with normative, menarche was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms at age 14 (imputed adjusted estimated difference = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.44, 1.45), but the association attenuated at 24 years (0.24 [−0.72, 1.19]). Late menarche, compared with normative, was associated with a lower level of depressive symptoms at age 14 (−0.69 [−1.10, −0.29]), but this association also attenuated at 24 years (−0.15 [−0.92, 0.62]). Conclusions This study did not find a persistent effect of early menarche, compared to normative, on depressive symptoms. However, our findings are consistent with the level of depressive symptoms increasing at the onset of menarche irrespective of timing. The late onset girls ‘catch up’ with their peers who experience menarche earlier in terms of depressive symptoms. Future studies should continue to assess the impact of timing of menarche further into adulthood. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2045796023000707/type/journal_articleadolescenceALSPACepidemiologydepressionwomen |
| spellingShingle | C. Prince C. Joinson A. S. F. Kwong A. Fraser J. Heron The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences adolescence ALSPAC epidemiology depression women |
| title | The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood |
| title_full | The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood |
| title_short | The relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood |
| title_sort | relationship between timing of onset of menarche and depressive symptoms from adolescence to adulthood |
| topic | adolescence ALSPAC epidemiology depression women |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2045796023000707/type/journal_article |
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