Earlier menarche is associated with a higher prevalence of Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) in young women in rural Malawi.
Remarkably little is known about associations between age at menarche and sexually transmitted infections, although girls with earlier menarche tend to have earlier sexual debut and school drop-out, so an association might be expected. In a population-based survey of >3000 women aged 15-30 in northern Malawi we show that those with earlier menarche had earlier sexual debut, earlier marriage and were more often Herpes simplex type-2 (HSV-2) positive. Compared to those with menarche aged <14, the age-adjusted odds ratios for HSV-2 were 0.89 (95%CI 0.71-1.1), 0.71 (0.57-0.89) and 0.69 (0.54-0.89) for menarche aged 14, 15 and 16+ respectively. This association persisted after adjusting for socio-economic factors, including schooling, and for sexual behaviour. No such association was seen with HIV infection, which is much less common and less uniformly distributed than HSV-2 in this population. The extra vulnerability of girls with earlier menarche needs to be recognised. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01604.001.
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Judith R
JR
Glynn
Ndoliwe
N
Kayuni
Levie
L
Gondwe
Alison J
AJ
Price
Amelia C
AC
Crampin
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi / Q000453:epidemiology; D008393:Marriage; D008572:Menarche; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012423:Rural Health; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult
Africa; Herpes simplex type 2; sexual health