Earlier Menstruation Linked to Earlier Sexual Activity 

NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters Health) - Results of a survey of Swedish teenagers suggest that girls who begin menstruating earlier also start having sex earlier. Moreover, girls who had had sex by the age of 15 had more partners and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy than those who waited. 

In the current issue of the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, Dr. Karin Edgardh reports results from a survey of nearly 2,000 17-year-olds. Edgardh, of Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo, Norway, found that 64% of girls had already had sex, and 16% had begun by age 15. 

Early menstruation--beginning before or at age 11--was an independent predictor of whether a girl became an "early starter" in terms of sexual behavior. More than twice as many early starters had their period by this age. This association, according to Edgardh, confirms the findings of two earlier studies from Sweden and the United States. 

One recently proposed theory, Edgardh writes, suggests that "environmental stress" such as divorce or family conflicts may spur early menstruation in young girls. She adds that early puberty works with other factors to increase girls' "risk taking behavior." 

Such risky behavior was more common among girls who had had sex early, the survey showed. Compared with "late starters," these girls were twice as likely to smoke or use drugs, and slightly more prone to drink alcohol. Fifteen percent of early starters reported having had a sexually transmitted disease, and nearly 14% had been pregnant; this compares with 5% and 6% of late starters. 

On average, the age at first menstruation was 12.8 years, with a range of 8 to 17 years. Girls that lived with both biological parents were more likely to postpone sexual activity than other teens. 

Early sex was even more common among girls who were not in school full-time, with 83% having had intercourse by the age of 17, and 49% by age 15. Close to 30% of these girls said they had been sexually abused. 

"Risk taking behavior," Edgardh writes, "is part and parcel of adolescence." Swedish girls who start having sex early, she notes, do so along with several other risky behaviors. "Consistent, comprehensive, and long lasting" public health measures, according to Edgardh, may help reduce these "problem behaviors." 

SOURCE: Sexually Transmitted Infections 2000;76:98-102. 

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