The association between age at menarche and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression

Abstract

Introduction:  The existing literature presents conflicting findings regarding the relationship between Age At Menarche (AAM) and depression. Thus, to address this gap, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate current evidence to clarify the association between AAM and depression.

Methods:  Medline (PubMed), Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched from 2000 until June 2024 to include cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies. The quality of the evidence was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) instrument. The odds ratio (OR) of depression and its 95 % Confidence Interval (95 % CI) were calculated using the random effects model and inverse variance method. The protocol is registered in PROSPERO, number CRD42024551838.

Results:  From a total of 2175 search records, 13 studies were included comprising 434,838 participants with NOS scores ranging from 7 to 9. The present findings showed that early menarche is associated with significantly higher odds of depression compared to both normative AAM (OR = 1.36, 95 % CI: 1.20–1.53) and late AAM (OR = 1.52, 95 % CI 1.22–1.90). Also, females with later menarche had lower odds of depression compared to females with normal AAM (OR = 0.91, 95 % CI 0.76–1.09); however, this association was not statistically significant.

Conclusion:  The present findings demonstrated that early menarche is associated with elevated odds of depression compared to females of both normative AAM and late AAM.