Girls menstruating early likely to tie the knot young

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New Delhi: As per a recent study, girls who menstruate early are more likely to get married early, say researchers.

The new research suggest that the timing of girl's first menstruation is most likely to affect her first sexual encounter and pregnancy.

"Menstruation marks the beginning of a girl's reproductive life and is an important indicator of girls' physical, nutritional, and reproductive health, yet it is often overlooked in public health," said senior author Marni Sommer.

In high-income countries, early menarche is defined as before the age of 12.

The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health researchers used data from peer-reviewed studies and health and social sciences databases to assess the link between menarche and various negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes in adolescence.

These included early sexual debut, experiences of sexual advances from older men, early pregnancy and childbirth, sexual risk taking, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The researchers also studied the link between age at menarche and early marriage. Two of the studies were conducted in Malawi; the others were conducted in South Africa, Nepal, Jamaica, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, India, and Bangladesh.

Overall, an earlier age at menstruation was associated with an earlier age of sexual initiation, age at pregnancy, and first live birth.

A sample of Jamaican women who menstruated early was 28 percent more likely to engage in sexual intercourse before the age of 16.

In rural Malawi, 55 percent of those who had their first period before age 14 had sex before the age of 16, compared with 27 percent of those with menarche at age 14 to 15, and only 4 percent of those with menarche at age 16 or older. Few girls engaged in sexual intercourse before they began menstruation.

Girls who experienced menarche at an earlier age were also more likely to get married at a young age. In India, for example, one study suggested that for each year menarche was delayed, the age of marriage increased by nine months.

(With Agency inputs)