Girls with childhood abuse history ‘at early menarche risk’
May 19th, 2009 - 2:31 pm ICT by ANIWashington, May 19 (ANI): A new study has found that girls with a history of childhood abuse are at a risk of early menarche or onset of their menstrual periods before age 12 years.
Lead researcher Lauren A. Wise, ScD at Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Centre said that a history of sexual abuse may increase the risk of early menarche.
She said a link between sexual abuse and early menarche, if real, could have important public health implications because early menarche is associated with earlier age at initiation of sexual activity and first pregnancy, and is a risk factor for several adult conditions, including gynecologic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
For the study, the researchers examined the prevalence of sexual and physical abuse in childhood among more than 35,000 African-American women aged 21-69 years participating in the Black Women’s Health Study.
The study found that a high proportion of participants reported a history of childhood abuse
Nearly 43 percent reported physical abuse and 18 percent reported sexual abuse.
The researchers revealed that women who reported a higher frequency of childhood sexual abuse had a higher likelihood of early menarche: a 26 percent increased risk of early menarche for 1-3 incidents of sexual abuse and a 34 percent increased risk of early menarche for four or more incidents.
“It is biologically plausible that childhood sexual abuse could influence age of menarche,” said Wise.
The study appears on-line in the American Journal of Public Health. (ANI)
- Sexually abused girl child more prone to stroke - Nov 14, 2011
- Sexual, physical abuse history linked to fibroids in premenopausal women - Nov 16, 2010
- Increased dairy intake cuts risk of uterine fibroids in black women - Dec 05, 2009
- Prepregnancy, obesity, gestational weight gain influence preterm birth risk - Feb 11, 2010
- Genes linking puberty to body fat in women discovered - Nov 22, 2010
- Study shows breast cancer risk factors differ among races - Apr 26, 2010
- Mums abused in childhood more likely to have low-birth weight babies - Mar 30, 2011
- Early period leads to baby girls: Study - May 02, 2011
- Strong link found between victimization experiences, substance abuse - Feb 25, 2011
- Childhood sexual abuse linked to greater risk for HIV in gay men - Jul 22, 2010
- Childhood sexual, physical abuse linked to alcoholism in women - Nov 18, 2010
- Abuse rates higher among deaf children: Study - Jan 19, 2011
- Sexual abuse survivors prone to psychiatric disorders - Jul 13, 2010
- Two-third of women face sexual problems and orgasm is biggest of them all - Jul 28, 2010
- Avoidable breast cancer risk factors identified - Jan 19, 2011
Tags: abuse history, african american women, age of menarche, american journal of public health, black women, boston university, childhood abuse, childhood sexual abuse, early menarche, gynecologic disorders, health study, higher frequency, journal of public health, menstrual periods, physical abuse, public health implications, risk factor, scd, sexual activity, slone