Do mental health and behavioural problems of early menarche persist into late adolescence? A three year follow-up study among adolescent girls in Oslo, Norway

Early menarche has been linked to mental health and behavioural problems in several studies. Most of these studies are cross-sectional, the data gathered during puberty. Thus, there is a lack of research on the long-term effect of early menarche on mental health. The main aim of this study was to explore whether the differences in mental health problems between girls with early and late menarche persist into late adolescence. The data consisted of responses from a large school-based survey of all 10th grade girls (15 years of age) in Oslo, Norway. Of the 1860 participating girls in the 2001 survey, 1377 were included in the three year follow-up study in 2004, giving a response rate of 74%. Mental distress was measured with the Hopkins Symptom Check list 10-version. Additional items assessed were number of sexual partners, weight and body satisfaction. All information was self-reported, including age of menarche. We found a clear gradient in the cross sectional analyses at baseline of higher odds for mental distress at lower age of menarche even after adjustment for socio demographic and other factors. In the analysis of the follow-up data there was no statistically significant difference in mental distress across age of menarche, even though the differences in body and weight satisfaction and average body mass index remained at the same level between baseline and follow-up. We therefore conclude that the effects of age of menarche on mental health problems are a transitory problem during puberty.