TY - JOUR
PY - 2019//
TI - Timing of menarche and self-harm in adolescence and adulthood: a population-based cohort study
JO - Psychological medicine
A1 - Roberts, Elystan
A1 - Fraser, Abigail
A1 - Gunnell, David
A1 - Joinson, Carol
A1 - Mars, Becky
SP - ePub
EP - ePub
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - BACKGROUND: Previous studies of pubertal timing and self-harm are limited by subjective measures of pubertal timing or by the conflation of self-harm with suicide attempts and ideation. The current study investigates the association between an objective measure of pubertal timing - age at menarche - and self-harm with and without suicidal intent in adolescence and adulthood in females.
METHOD: Birth cohort study based on 4042 females from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Age at menarche was assessed prospectively between ages 8 and 17 years. Lifetime history of self-harm was self-reported at ages 16 and 21 years. Associations between age at menarche and self-harm, both with and without suicidal intent, were examined using multivariable logistic regression.
RESULTS: Later age at menarche was associated with a lower risk of lifetime self-harm at age 16 years (OR per-year increase in age at menarche 0.87; 95% CI 0.80-0.95). Compared with normative timing, early menarche (<11.5 years) was associated with an increased risk of self-harm (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.04-1.64) and later menarche (>13.8 years) with a reduced risk (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.58-0.93). The pattern of association was similar at age 21 years (OR per-year increase in age at menarche 0.92, 95% CI 0.85-1.00). There was no strong evidence for a difference in associations with suicidal v. non-suicidal self-harm.
CONCLUSIONS: Risk of self-harm is higher in females with early menarche onset. Future research is needed to establish whether this association is causal and to identify potential mechanisms. Language: en
LA - en
SN - 0033-2917
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291719002095
ID - ref1
ER -