Girls who had their period at a very young age are more likely to suffer from chronic pain as adults.
- The age of puberty is partly genetically determined.
- If signs of puberty appear in a girl between the ages of 8 and 10, it is called advanced puberty and it is not considered abnormal.
The age of puberty varies from person to person. In some, the signs of the transition from childhood to adolescence occur very early. In this case, we speak of precocious puberty. In girls, it is manifested by swelling of the breasts and sometimes the onset of menstruation. According to work published in the journal Bread March 1, the onset of menstruation at a very young age is not without consequences. In adulthood, women who have had early periods may suffer from chronic pain.
To reach this conclusion, a group of Norwegian scientists analyzed data from 12,130 women, collected from 2007 to 2016 as part of another study on the health of people in northern Norway. They examined the associations between the participants’ age at the time of the first period and the presence and characteristics of chronic pain (duration, intensity and frequency of episodes). All analyzes were adjusted for body mass index, age and economic status of the volunteers during childhood.
A link between the age of the first period and chronic pain
According to the results, early periods were associated with an increased risk of chronic pain in adulthood. “Age at first menstrual period was significantly associated with chronic pain in the neck, abdomen, and both arms, as well as generalized pain,” can we read in the searches. The researchers found that a younger age at the time of the first period was associated with a longer duration of pain.
“Gender differences in chronic pain are well known, with a predominance documented in women. One reason could be the different hormonal exposure of the two sexes across the lifespan,” explained the scientists in a statement.