
Girls with early first periods become women with greater risk of gestational diabetes
Girls with early first periods become women with greater risk of gestational diabetes
In Western societies, average age of first period has dropped from 17 to 13 years over the past century. justanotherhuman/flickr , CC BY-NC-SA
Girls with early first periods become women with greater risk of gestational diabetes
Professor of Life Course Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
As a young girl, getting your period for the first time is a big deal. It comes with mental and social expectations around becoming a woman and a host of cultural practices that act to celebrate or stigmatise menstruation.
But evidence now suggests the timing of this event could also have health implications for girls who get their first period earlier than their peers.
During puberty our bodies change and sexually mature, and a girls first period is an important point in this process. The age when girls get their first period varies, however younger than 12 years is generally considered to be early. The possibility that a first period before the age of 12 is linked with pregnancy health was explored in our recent study . We found that girls who had early first periods were more likely to develop diabetes when they later became pregnant as an adult.
Gestational diabetes is a serious pregnancy complication , as it increases the risk of pre-term labour
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