Assessing causal links between age at menarche and adolescent mental health: a Mendelian randomisation study

The timing of puberty may have an important impact on adolescent mental health. In particular, earlier age at menarche has been associated with elevated rates of depression in adolescents. Previous research suggests that this relationship may be causal, but replication and an investigation of whethe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC medicine 2024-04, Vol.22 (1), p.155-27, Article 155
Main Authors: Askelund, Adrian Dahl, Wootton, Robyn E, Torvik, Fartein A, Lawn, Rebecca B, Ask, Helga, Corfield, Elizabeth C, Magnus, Maria C, Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted, Magnus, Per M, Andreassen, Ole A, Stoltenberg, Camilla, Davey Smith, George, Davies, Neil M, Havdahl, Alexandra, Hannigan, Laurie J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescence
Adolescent
Adolescents
Adults
Age
Age at menarche
Analysis
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Body mass index
Body size
Causality
Child
Child & adolescent mental health
Child development
Children
Cohort analysis
Cohort Studies
Conduct disorder
Data collection
Demographic aspects
Depression
Epidemiology
Female
Females
Health aspects
Humans
Hypotheses
MBRN
Menarche
Mendelian randomisation
Mendelian Randomization Analysis
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental Health
MoBa
Observational studies
Pregnancy
Psychological aspects
Psychology, Pathological
Puberty
Questionnaires
Randomization
Sensitivity analysis
Social aspects
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Summary:The timing of puberty may have an important impact on adolescent mental health. In particular, earlier age at menarche has been associated with elevated rates of depression in adolescents. Previous research suggests that this relationship may be causal, but replication and an investigation of whether this effect extends to other mental health domains is warranted. In this Registered Report, we triangulated evidence from different causal inference methods using a new wave of data (N = 13,398) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study. We combined multiple regression, one- and two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR), and negative control analyses (using pre-pubertal symptoms as outcomes) to assess the causal links between age at menarche and different domains of adolescent mental health. Our results supported the hypothesis that earlier age at menarche is associated with elevated depressive symptoms in early adolescence based on multiple regression (β =  - 0.11, 95% CI [- 0.12, - 0.09], p  
ISSN:1741-7015
1741-7015
DOI:10.1186/s12916-024-03361-8