RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Childhood psychosocial adversity and female reproductive timing: a cohort study of the ALSPAC mothers
JF Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
JO J Epidemiol Community Health
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP jech-2017-209488
DO 10.1136/jech-2017-209488
A1 Maria C Magnus
A1 Emma L Anderson
A1 Laura D Howe
A1 Carol J Joinson
A1 Ian S Penton-Voak
A1 Abigail Fraser
YR 2017
UL http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2017/11/09/jech-2017-209488.abstract
AB Background Previous studies of childhood psychosocial adversity and age at menarche mostly evaluated single or a few measures of adversity, and therefore could not quantify total psychosocial adversity. Limited knowledge is currently available regarding childhood psychosocial adversity in relation to age at menopause and reproductive lifespan.Methods We examined the associations of total and specific components of childhood psychosocial adversity with age at menarche (n=8984), age at menopause (n=945), and length of reproductive lifespan (n=841), in mothers participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. We used confirmatory factor analysis to characterise lack of care, maladaptive family functioning, non-sexual abuse, overprotective parenting, parental mental illness and sexual abuse. These specific components of childhood psychosocial adversity were combined into a total psychosocial adversity score using a second-order factor analysis. We used structural equation models to simultaneously conduct the factor analysis and estimate the association with the continuous outcomes of interest.Results Total childhood psychosocial adversity was not associated with age at menarche, age at menopause or length of reproductive lifespan. When we examined the separate psychosocial adversity constructs, sexual abuse was inversely associated with age at menarche, with a mean difference of −0.17 (95% CI −0.23 to −0.12) years per SD higher factor score, and with age at menopause, with a mean difference of −0.17 (95% CI −0.52 to 0.18) per SD higher factor score.Conclusion Childhood sexual abuse was associated with lower age at menarche and menopause, but the latter needs to be confirmed in larger samples.