Childhood Abuse and Early Menarche Among Peruvian Women

Abstract Purpose Childhood abuse has been associated with age of menarche in some studies, but not all, and few have assessed the independent associations of sexual and physical abuse with early menarche. We examined the association between childhood abuse and early menarche among pregnant women in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of adolescent health 2015-02, Vol.56 (2), p.197-202
Main Authors: Barrios, Yasmin V., M.P.H, Sanchez, Sixto E., M.D., M.P.H, Nicolaidis, Christina, M.D., M.P.H, Garcia, Pedro J., M.D., M.P.H, Gelaye, Bizu, Ph.D., M.P.H, Zhong, Qiuyue, M.Sc, Williams, Michelle A., Sc.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age at menarche
Child
Child Abuse
Child Abuse - ethnology
Child Abuse - statistics & numerical data
Child Sexual Abuse
Childhood
Childhood abuse
Female
Females
Health
Hispanic Americans
Humans
Logistic Models
Menarche
Menarche - ethnology
Pediatrics
Peru
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Sexual Abuse
Sexual Behavior - ethnology
Sexual Behavior - statistics & numerical data
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract Purpose Childhood abuse has been associated with age of menarche in some studies, but not all, and few have assessed the independent associations of sexual and physical abuse with early menarche. We examined the association between childhood abuse and early menarche among pregnant women in Lima, Peru. Methods Multinomial logistic regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for early menarche (≤11 years) in relation to any physical or sexual childhood abuse, physical abuse only, sexual abuse only, and both physical and sexual abuse in a cohort of 1,499 pregnant (first trimester) women. Results Approximately 69% of participants reported experiencing physical or sexual abuse in childhood. The frequencies of physical abuse only, sexual abuse only, and both physical and sexual abuse were 37.4%, 7.7%, and 24.5%, respectively. Compared with women who reported no childhood abuse, those who reported any childhood abuse had a 1.38-fold increased odds of early menarche (95% CI, 1.01–1.87). Compared with no abuse, the odds of early menarche was 1.60-fold among women with childhood sexual abuse only (OR, 1.60; 95% CI, .93–2.74) and 1.56-fold for those with both physical and sexual abuse (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.07–2.25) during childhood. Isolated physical abuse was weakly associated with early menarche (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, .87–1.74). There was no clear evidence of association of childhood abuse with late menarche (≥15 years). Conclusions Childhood abuse, particularly joint physical and sexual abuse, is associated with early menarche. Our findings add to an expanding body of studies documenting the enduring adverse health consequences of childhood abuse.
ISSN:1054-139X
1879-1972
DOI:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.10.002