Public Health Rep. 2026 Jan 18:333549251404837. doi: 10.1177/00333549251404837. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: During the past century, the age of menarche (onset of the first menstrual cycle) has dropped worldwide, with a decline of 2 or 3 months every 10 years in the United States. The adverse health effects of this change are just starting to be understood. Little is known about how the age of menarche affects the future health of African American women. Our objective was to examine the association between early menarche and cardiovascular disease in African American women.
METHODS: The study sample included 2397 African American women in the Jackson Heart Study (64% of the total original cohort). We examined the association of early menarche (at age <12 y) with prevalent coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, general obesity, and abdominal obesity.
RESULTS: The mean (SD) baseline age of participants was 55.2 (12.5) years, with a mean (SD) age of menarche of 12.8 (1.8) years; 20.6% of these women experienced early menarche. After adjustment for relevant covariates, early menarche was significantly associated with increased odds of coronary heart disease (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16; 95% CI, 1.44-3.22), myocardial infarction (OR = 1.90; 95% CI, 1.17-3.08), hypertension (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.15; 95% CI, 1.07-1.24), general obesity (PR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14-1.31), and abdominal obesity (PR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.08-1.20).
CONCLUSIONS: Among this cohort, early menarche was a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease among African American women. Addressing this risk requires policies and clinical guidelines that recognize early menarche as a marker for early intervention.
PMID:41548946 | DOI:10.1177/00333549251404837