A recent US study has revealed that girls who go through puberty early in life could be more likely to experience depression and behavior problems that last into their 20s compared to peers who start menstruation later.
Researchers studied data on up to 7,800 women who had their first menstrual cycle at an average age of 12. The women were interviewed four times, starting around age 16 and continuing until about age 28.
Girls who experienced early puberty between age 8 and 10 were more likely than older girls to become depressed, and their symptoms were also more severe in adolescence, the study found.
With earlier puberty, girls were also more likely to have behavior issues that may lead to vices like stealing, lying, breaking into buildings and selling drugs. The link lasted into young adulthood.
According to Jane Mendle, a researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, the magnitude of the association between puberty and such psychological difficulties remains stable, meaning that puberty is as strongly associated with depressive symptoms and antisocial behavior during adulthood as it is during adolescence.
“This suggests that the psychological vulnerability of earlier puberty lingers longer than we previously may have expected, It’s not simply a question of adolescent growing pains,” Mendle said.
Far-reaching changes in biology, appearance, self-perception and emotion combine to make puberty one of the most pivotal phases of development during the life span, the researchers note in Pediatrics. Although puberty can be a challenging time for all adolescents, it can be a particularly vulnerable time for girls who physically mature ahead of their peers.
Because physical maturation is linked to changes in social roles and relationships, this has long been linked to difficulties coping with new changes and stressors in life as well as changes in the brain that can make youth exceptionally vulnerable to mental health and behavior difficulties.
It’s also possible that a variety of factors not examined in the study, such as the impact of early puberty on academics or friendships, might at least in part explain the reason puberty timing appeared tied to the risk of depression and behavior problems.
According to Dr. Ellen Selkie, author of an accompanying editorial and an adolescent medicine specialist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, girls who develop early tend to be treated like they are older than they really are, sometimes, that means they might hang out with older kids to try to fit in.
“But that also means they could be involved in things that they aren’t really mature enough for, that sense of not really belonging can lead to mood problems and acting out which we know can set up a pattern of behavior that leads to adult problems as well,” Selkie added.
