Early puberty and early sexual activity are associated with bulimic-type eating pathology in middle adolescence.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the associations between early pubertal timing and early advanced sexual development with bulimic-type eating pathology in middle adolescents.


METHODS
A total of 19,321 boys and 19,196 girls aged 14-16 years (mean age 15.3 years, standard deviation 0.59) responded to the School Health Promotion Study, a class-room survey among Finnish adolescents about health, health behavior, and school experiences. Bulimic-type eating pathology was assessed with a questionnaire formulated according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) criteria. Pubertal timing was assessed by self-reported age at menarche or oigarche. Statistical methods were used chi-square and logistic regression.


RESULTS
Bulimic-type eating pathology among girls was associated with early menarche, early sexual experiences, and increasing age. Among boys, onset of ejaculations at the normative age was protective for bulimic-type eating pathology, and the risk was elevated among very early and late maturers. Early sexual experience was associated with bulimic-type eating pathology.


CONCLUSIONS
To prevent bulimia nervosa and to create opportunities for early intervention, attention should be paid to early maturing girls and off-time maturing boys, as well as those with early onset of sexual activity.
Kaltiala-Heino
R
R
University of Tampere, Tampere School of Public Health and Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland. merihe@uta.fi
Rimpelä
M
M
Rissanen
A
A
Rantanen
P
P
D000293:Adolescent; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D011627:Puberty / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires