Age of menarche: the role of some psychosocial factors

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to determine associations between the age of first menstrual period (menarche) and adverse childhood experiences in a random community sample of New Zealand women. Previous reports have linked early menarche to absence of a live-in father figure and to family conflict, as well as genetic determination of early puberty and adiposity. METHOD: Two groups of women randomly selected from the community on their responses to a mailed screening questionnaire on childhood sexual abuse (CSA) were interviewed in detail. Data about their childhood experiences, including age of menarche, were collected on two occasions, 6 years apart. Early menarche was defined as first menstruation occurring before the age of 12 years. RESULTS: Univariate analyses identified a number of adverse childhood experiences preceded early menarche, which was reported by 20.3% of this sample. These included low family socio-economic status, absence of father, a number of variables showing family conflict, poor relationships between the girl and either/both parents, a self-rated childhood personality style as a loner, childhood physical and sexual abuse. Sequential modelling showed parental rows, being a loner and the duration of CSA to be most important, although lack of a father and any CSA were each also independently associated with early menarche. No variables survived the modelling exercise as predictors of early menarche for those women who did not report childhood sexual abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The identified variables statistically interacted with each other in a highly complex manner. The attempt to rank their importance was only partially successful, for methodological reasons (half the sample reporting CSA). Chronic or protracted CSA needs to be added to the list of factors associated with early menarche in future studies.     

SOCIO‐ECOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF INTERCOURSE FREQUENCY AND NUMBER OF SEXUAL PARTNERS AMONG MALE AND FEMALE AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS

The current study examined 14 waves of data derived from a large, community‐based study of the sexual behavior of impoverished youth between 12 and 17 years of age residing in the Deep South. We used multilevel linear modeling to identify ecological predictors of intercourse frequency and number of sexual partners among gender‐specific subsamples. Results indicated that predictors of adolescent sexual behavior differed by both type of sexual behavior and gender. For males, age, maternal warmth, parental knowledge, curfew, self‐worth, and sense of community predicted intercourse frequency, while age, parental knowledge, curfew, self‐worth, friend support, and sense of community were significantly associated with having multiple sexual partners. Among females, age, curfew, and self‐worth exerted significant effects on intercourse frequency, while age, parental knowledge, curfew, and self‐worth exerted significant effects on having multiple sexual partners. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Reproductive development and parental investment during pregnancy: Moderating influence of mother's early environment

The association between a woman's age at menarche and the birth weight of her children is highly variable across human populations. Life history theory proposes that a woman's early environment may moderate this association and thus account for some of the variation between populations. According to one life history theory model, for individuals who develop in a childhood environment of high local mortality rates (experienced subjectively as psychosocial stress), it can be adaptive to mature earlier, have more offspring during their reproductive lifetime, and reduce investment in each offspring. In an environment of low psychosocial stress, however, it may be adaptive to mature later, have fewer offspring, and invest more in each. In this study, birth weight and proportionate birth weight (neonate's birth weight as a percentage of its mother's prepregnancy weight) were used as measures of parental investment during pregnancy. In a sample of 580 first‐time mothers, we tested the hypothesis that the psychosocial stress experienced as a child would moderate the association between age at menarche and investment during pregnancy. We found that earlier menarche in those women who experienced stressful life events before 15 years of age was associated with a lower birth weight and proportionate birth weight. Conversely, in those who reported no childhood stressors, earlier menarche was associated with increased birth weight and proportionate birth weight. Our data suggest that the moderating influence of the childhood psychosocial environment on the association between age at menarche and parental investment throughout gestation operates in a dose‐dependent manner. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Reproductive traits following a parent–child separation trauma during childhood: A natural experiment during World War II

Given the ethical limitations of exposing children to experimentally manipulated adverse experiences, evidence of the effects of childhood traumas on subsequent life history are based mostly on women's retrospective reports and animal studies. Only a few prospective studies have assessed the life‐long consequences of childhood trauma. We asked whether a traumatic separation from both parents during childhood is associated with reproductive and marital traits later in life, measured by age of onset of menarche, timing of menopause, period of fertile years, age at first childbirth, birth spacing, number of children, and history of divorce. We studied members of the 1934–1944 Helsinki Birth Cohort, including 396 former war evacuees from varying socioeconomic backgrounds, who were sent unaccompanied by their parents to temporary foster families in Sweden and Denmark, and 503 participants who had no separation experiences. Data on separation experiences, number of children, and divorces experienced came from national registers, and the remaining data from a survey among the participants aged 61.6 years (SD = 2.9). Former evacuees had earlier menarche, earlier first childbirth (men), more children by late adulthood (women), and shorter interbirth intervals (men), than the non‐separated. A traumatic experience in childhood is associated with significant alterations in reproductive and marital traits, which characterize both women and men. The implications are relevant to the 9.2 million child refugees living throughout the world today. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Juvenile- versus adult-onset depression: multiple differences imply different pathways

BACKGROUND: Several sources of heterogeneity in major depression have been identified. These include age of onset, presence of co-morbid disorders, and history of childhood sexual abuse. This study examined these factors in the context of the contrast between onset of depression in young women before and after age 16. METHOD: Sampling was carried out in two phases. In the first, questionnaires were sent to women aged 25-36 in five primary care practices. Second-phase subjects for interview (n = 197) were drawn from three strata defined on the basis of childhood adversities. Interviews conducted and rated independently assessed (1) recalled childhood experiences, psychopathology and parental psychiatric disorder, and (2) adult personality functioning and adult lifetime psychopathology. Frequencies of predictor and response variables, effect estimates and their confidence intervals were weighted back to the general population questionnaire sample. RESULTS: Compared with adult-onset depression, juvenile-onset adult depression was associated with co-morbid childhood psychopathology and peer problems, poor parental care, and childhood sexual abuse involving actual or attempted intercourse; in adult life there were higher levels of co-morbid psychiatric disorders, and personality dysfunction. The adult-onset depression group was characterized by a history of contact childhood sexual abuse without actual or attempted intercourse, and to a lesser extent, poor parental care. CONCLUSIONS: The juvenile- versus adult-onset distinction appears to be important to heterogeneity in adult depression, implicating different individual and environmental factors during childhood, and different mechanisms in adult life.     

A prospective investigation of the impact of childhood sexual abuse on the development of sexuality

The sexual attitudes and activities of 77 sexually abused and 89 comparison women (mean age = 20.41, SD = 3.38) were assessed 10 years after disclosure in a longitudinal, prospective study of the long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse. Abused participants were more preoccupied with sex, younger at first voluntary intercourse, more likely to have been teen mothers, and endorsed lower birth controlefficacy than comparison participants. When psychological functioning earlier in development was examined, sexual preoccupation was predicted by anxiety, sexual aversion was predicted by childhood sexual behavior problems, and sexual ambivalence (simultaneous sexual preoccupation and sexual aversion) was predicted by pathological dissociation. Findings also indicate that biological father abuse may be associated with greater sexual aversion and sexual ambivalence.     

Physiological maturation,reproductive patterns,and female fecundability in a traditional Moroccan population (Amizmiz,Marrakech)

The interaction between age at menarche, adolescent motherhood, and subfecundity were evaluated in 496 Moroccan women 25–54 years of age from the province of Marrakech. Since this population is characterized by later sexual maturation and early marriage, significantly increased subfecundity, measured by the waiting time to first live birth and the incidence of fetal loss, was expected. Menstrual age was defined as the difference between age at marriage and age at menarche. Social access to reproduction was conditioned by age at menarche: early maturers married at a younger age, while late maturers had a significantly shorter menstrual age despite the fact that married at a significantly older age. Although there was a tendency for late maturers to have longer waiting times and more fetal loss, there were no significant differences for either variable according to menarcheal age. Women with a shorter menstrual age became pregnant within the first year after marriage significantly less frequently than women with a greater menstrual age, but did not experience a greater occurrence of fetal loss during their reproductive life. The results indirectly support the hypothesis that the regularity of ovarian function is similar among populations independent of the timing of menarche. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sexual lifestyle of women attending inner-city general practices for cervical smears.

Despite high prevalences of sexually transmitted infections, little is known about the sexual lifestyles of women attending inner-city general practices. Responses from a 1996 questionnaire showed that age at first intercourse and numbers of sexual partners were similar to the national survey five years earlier. However, only 49% of women reporting > or = 2 sexual partners in the past year said their partner had used a condom at the last sexual intercourse.     

Yolk testosterone levels and offspring phenotype correlate with parental age in a precocial bird

Parents, and particularly mothers, can influence their offspring's development in non-genetic ways. Maternal effects can occur during the mothering phase as well as during the embryonic phase. Prenatal maternal effects in birds can be mediated by yolk steroid hormones that influence subsequent offspring development. Studies have focused mainly on the influence of laying females' living conditions on yolk hormonal contents, and rarely on the effects of individual characteristics. Here, we investigated prenatal influence of parent age on yolk steroid levels and on offspring phenotype. We compared Japanese quail at two different ages: at the beginning of their reproductive cycle (11 weeks old: age 1) and six months later, after egg production peak (37 weeks old: age 2). Egg composition, reproductive outcomes, and offspring growth, sexual development and behaviour were studied at both ages. We found that laying rate, fertility and chick survival rates declined between age 1 and age 2. Age 2 eggs had relatively lighter shells and higher yolk plus albumen contents; they also had lower testosterone contents. Age 2 offspring weighed more at hatching than did age 1 offspring; subsequently their growth patterns differed and their sexual development was more precocious. Age 2 offspring were less emotional than age 1 offspring when encountering a novel environment, and they appeared more sensitive to social separation. Our study shows, for the first time in a bird species, a strong impact of parental age on offspring phenotype, and especially on behaviour, an impact that is possibly mediated via modulation of yolk testosterone content.     

Family socio-economic background modified secular trends in age at menarche: evidence from the Pró-Saúde Study (Rio de Janeiro,Brazil)

BACKGROUND: Since age at menarche has been associated with socio-economic status, its downward secular trend might vary according to the different socio-economic status levels of the family in which women lived during their childhood. AIM: This study seeks to describe secular trends in age at menarche for Brazilian women whose fathers had different levels of educational attainment. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 2053 women born between 1931 and 1977. Multiple linear regression models were employed to estimate trends in age at menarche according to categories of educational level of the participants' father. RESULTS: The age at first menstruation varied from 7 to 19 years, with a mean age of 12.3 years (+/- 1.64 SD). The reduction in age at menarche was 2.4 months per decade for all women. Among daughters of fathers with less than 8 years of schooling this reduction was 3.6 months per decade, and among daughters of fathers with 8 years or more of study it was 1.2 months per decade. CONCLUSION: Improvements in living conditions in Brazil over the last decades seem to have had a stronger effect on the reduction of the age at menarche among women who lived their childhood in worse socio-economic standards.     

Family composition and menarcheal age: anti-inbreeding strategies.

Family composition (e.g., the absence of a father) is associated with pubertal timing in women, although the socioendocrinology of the human primate is poorly understood. To better understand social influences on sexual maturation, retrospective data were collected on menarcheal age and family composition from a sample of approximately 1,938 participants from a college population. Absence of a biological father, the presence of half- and step-brothers, and living in an urban environment were associated with earlier menarche. The presence of sisters in the household while growing up, especially older sisters, was associated with delayed menarche. Menarcheal age was not affected by number of brothers in the household, nor was there an effect of birth order. Body weight and race were also associated with menarche. The present findings advance the literature as they are suggestive of putative human pheromones that modulate sexual maturation to promote gene survival and prevent inbreeding, as occurs in rodents and nonhuman primates.     

Childhood Sexual Abuse Moderates Genetic Influences on Age at First Consensual Sexual Intercourse in Women

We examine interactive effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on heritable variation in age at first consensual sexual intercourse in a young cohort of 3,350 female and 2,724 male Australian twins. Consistent with hypotheses, genetic influences explained little if any variation in age at first consensual sexual intercourse for female twins reporting CSA (CSA(+)), with shared environment explaining 73%. For female twins reporting no history of CSA (CSA(-)), 39% of variation in age at first consensual sexual intercourse was explained by genetic effects, with shared environment accounting for 30%. For male twins, significant interactive effects of CSA on genetic and environmental variation in age at first consensual sexual intercourse were not observed. Overall genetic influences explained 51% of variation in age at first consensual sexual intercourse for male twins, with shared environment accounting for 8%. For both female and male twins, results from models that included conduct disorder as a covariate were near identical to results from models without conduct disorder.     

Salivary testosterone and creative musical behavior in adolescent males and females

In a longitudinal study, salivary testosterone levels were assessed in 3 subsequent years in adolescent boys and girls who had documented creative musical talent in their early teens. Decrease of creative musical behavior in adolescent boys was attributed, inter alia, to a testosterone increase exceeding a hypothesized optimal testosterone range for the expression of creative musical behavior. Left‐handers, especially left‐handed boys, were superior to righthanders on a test measuring musical talent. Testosterone levels did not differ between the handedness groups. Sex differences in salivary testosterone were not observed by a mean age of 13.5. Age was more important than mutation in boys and menarche in girls with respect to testosterone rises during puberty. Circadian rhythm in salivary testosterone levels was found in both sexes.     

Children's Responses to Conflict Between Their Different Parents: Mothers,Stepfathers, Nonresident Fathers,and Nonresident Stepmothers

Children who have experienced parental separation have potentially 3 sets of parents whose relationships may impact on them: mother and former partner, mother and stepfather, and father and new partner. Children's accounts of their response to conflict between these different parental dyads were studied, in relation to the quality of their relationships with these parents assessed with child interviews and questionnaires, and to maternal reports of the children's adjustment, in a sample of 159 children growing up in different family settings. Involvement in conflict within 1 parental dyad was chiefly unrelated to such involvement in conflict between the other parental dyads. In contrast, there was evidence for "spillover" effects in relationships within families; for instance, high frequencies of conflict between parents were linked to more troubled parent–child relationships. Children were more likely to side with the parent to whom they were biologically related than with stepparents. Involvement in mother–nonresident father conflict and in mother–stepfather conflict were both associated with adjustment problems, independent of the qualities of positivity and conflict in the relationship between child and parent. Implications for views on "family boundaries" are considered.     

Childhood adversities and depression: I. Effects of early parental loss on the rearing behaviour of the remaining parent

Summary Although early parental loss and perceived rearing have both been the target of intensive research, they have rarely been linked. This study examined the effects of parental loss on the perceived parenting of the remaining caregiver. The effect of early (before age 16) experience of the father's or mother's death or separation from them for 12 months or longer on the rearing behaviour of the remaining parent was studied retrospectively among 1,329 pregnant women. Women who had experienced either death of or separation from the father reported having received less care from the mother. However, experiences of loss of the mother did not show significant effects on the perceived rearing behaviour of the father. The number of siblings was correlated with reduced paternal and maternal care and with reduced maternal overprotection. Our hypothesis that early parental loss experience would have a negative influence on parental rearing behaviour was proved only for the effects of the paternal loss. Search for other determinants may be warranted.     

柳州市不同层次暗娼人群梅毒及艾滋病感染状况分析

目的了解柳州市不同层次商业性工作者人群特征、艾滋病相关知识、行为及梅毒、艾滋病病毒感染等现状。方法采用二阶段整群抽样方法抽取调查对象,使用健康问卷面对面调查并采集血样检测HIV和梅毒抗体。结果本次研究共调查403人,部分调查对象认为能够从表面区分艾滋病感染者,与客人发生性行为时安全套使用率较高,但与固定性伴安全套使用率很低。不同档次对象的年龄、婚姻和文化程度略有不同,安全套使用率也略有差别。调查者中1d接客最多20人,1周接客最多25人;首次性行为年龄最小12岁,首次商业性服务年龄最小14岁。58.50%的调查者最近1年患过性传播疾病。未发现HIV阳性者,但发现梅毒RPR初筛阳性者10人,阳性率为2.48%。结论在干预活动时应针对不同层次人群特点,对有配偶或固定性伴者应当加大干预力度和采取不同的策略促其使用安全套,以减少HIV进一步传播。     

Sexual behavior of college women in 1975, 1986, and 1989

To compare sexual practices in college women before and after the start of the current epidemics of Chlamydia trachomatis, genital herpesvirus, and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection, we surveyed 486 college women who consulted gynecologists at a student health service in 1975, 161 in 1986, and 132 in 1989 at the same university. There were no statistically significant differences in age, age at menarche, or reason for visiting the gynecologist. The percentages of women in this population who were sexually experienced were the same in all three years (88 percent in 1975, 87 percent in 1986, and 87 percent in 1989). Oral contraceptives were used by 55 percent of the women in 1975, 34 percent in 1986, and 42 percent in 1989; the use of condoms as the usual method of birth control increased (6 percent in 1975, 14 percent in 1986, and 25 percent in 1989; P less than 0.001). In 1975, only 12 percent reported the regular use of condoms during sexual intercourse, in some cases in conjunction with other methods of contraception, as compared with 21 percent in 1986 and 41 percent in 1989 (P = 0.0014). No significant differences were found in the three surveys in the number of male sexual partners or the frequency of fellatio, cunnilingus, or anal intercourse. An additional sample of 189 college women who did not consult the health service was surveyed in 1989, and similar sexual behavior was reported by those who were sexually experienced (65 percent). We conclude that in this population there has been little change in sexual practices in response to new and serious epidemics of sexually transmitted diseases, with the exception of an increase in the use of condoms (which still does not reach 50 percent).     

Age at menarche: Relationships to socioeconomic status,growth rate in stature and weight,and skeletal and sexual maturation

A sample of 114 girls from low-middle and highest socioeconomic levels of Istanbul were followed at 6-month intervals for 7–9 years during adolescence. Results pertaining to age of menarche and its relationship to growth and maturation are presented. No significant difference was found for the occurrence of menarche in relation to season. The age of menarche was 6.6 months earlier in daughters compared to their mothers, but the variation between mothers and daughters was great. In the lower socioeconimic class, age of menarche was significantly later, 12.5 years in the high and 13.4 years in the lower class. Later menarche in the lower class was related to lower rates of growth in stature and weight, and of skeletal and sexual maturation. There was no significant correlation between age at menarche and stature and weight attained at menarche. Those with a faster rate of growth reached menarche early and the height velocity continued to be faster. The median stages of secondary sexual characteristics at menarche were 4 for breast and pubic hair, and 3 for axillary hair. The stage of development at menarche did not differ significantly with age of menarche and social class. Menarche occurred 2.4 years after the appearance of pubic hair, 2.0 years after the appearance of the breast bud, and 1.4 years after the appearance of axillary hair, and the ages at which the secondary sexual characters appeared correlated significantly with the age of menarche. Skeletal age at menarche was 13.0 ± 0.69 years. Age of menarche correlated best with the age at which fusion of the second and first distal phalanges occurred. The percentage of adult height attained at menarche correlated significantly with the age of menarche. Regression equations and standard errors are presented to aid in the prediction of the age at menarche from other variables related to menarche.     

Menarcheal age and socio-economic factors in Poland

BACKGROUND: Menarcheal age is the most important measure of sexual maturation in girls and a sensitive indicator of environmental conditions during childhood. OBJECTIVE: The study analysed the association between age at menarche and socio-economic characteristics (urbanization, population size, education of parents and number of children in the family). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Questionnaire data were collected from 3271 female schoolchildren born between 1981 and 1984, living in three provinces of southern Poland. Menarcheal age was estimated by the recall method and based on the date of menarche given by the study participants. ANCOVA and multiple regression analyses were applied to test statistical significance of differences between groups. RESULTS: Girls from families with high socio-economic status experience menarche at an earlier age than girls from families with lower socio-economic status. However, depending on the geographical region and the population size, other factors influence menarcheal age. In the Krakow province, factors that significantly differentiate age at menarche are urbanization, father's education and number of children in the family; in the Opole province, these factors include urbanization and number of children in the family, while in the Nowy Sacz province, number of children in the family is significant. CONCLUSIONS: Socio-economic differences are greater in a large urban city (Krakow), and affect variation in age at menarche. However, within smaller populations (Opole, Nowy Sacz) living in towns and villages, the difference in age at menarche is less visible. In addition, variation between areas reveals a lower age at menarche in urban as compared with non-urban areas.