Age at menarche is associated with divergent alcohol use patterns in early adolescence and early adulthood

• Published in: Journal of adolescence (London, England.) Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 1065 - 1076
• Main Authors: Richards, Meghan A, Oinonen, Kirsten A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2011; Elsevier; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Adults; Age; Age Factors; Alcohol; Alcohol Abuse; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Biological and medical sciences; Canada - epidemiology; Case Studies; Child; Childhood; College Students; Consumption; Correlation; Correlation analysis; Developmental; Developmental Stages; Drinking; Drinking patterns; Drunkenness; Early Adolescents; Female; Females; Gender Differences; Humans; Medical sciences; Menarche; Pediatrics; Physiology; Prediction; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Puberty; Retrospective Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Women; Young Adult; Canada; Developmental; Menarche; Puberty; Alcohol; Drinking patterns; Human; Consumption; Alcoholic beverage; Age of onset; Correlation analysis; Young adult; Female
• ISSN: 0140-1971; 1095-9254
• DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.11.001

Abstract A cross-sectional retrospective design was employed to examine the relationship between age at menarche (AAM) and alcohol use patterns from middle childhood (age 7) to early adulthood in 265 University-aged women. Earlier menarche was associated with: (a) earlier ages at first drink and first intoxication, (b) greater use between ages 9 and 14 (i.e., frequency, amount, vomiting), and (c) binge drinking between ages 11 and 14. In contrast, late menarche was associated with greater current use in the adult women (i.e., frequency, amount, hangovers). Early timing of first intoxication relative to menarche (FIRM) strongly predicted higher current drinking. These findings suggest: (a) a link between AAM and alcohol use as early as age 9, (b) opposite relationships between AAM and alcohol use during two distinct developmental periods separated by a period of use unassociated with AAM, and (c) that the impact of early FIRM on adult consumption deserves further study.