Early menarche and risk-taking behavior in Korean adolescent students.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to assess the correlation between early menarche and risk-taking behavior in a representative sample of Korean adolescent students.

METHODS: Data were drawn from a cross-sectional, nationally representative sample of 33 829 female adolescents (grades 7-12) from the 2014 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to test the association between early menarche and risk-taking behavior.

RESULTS: Female adolescents who experienced menarche at an earlier age tended to have an earlier initiation of sexual intercourse (odds ratio [OR] 4.61, 95% CI, 3.05-6.98, P = .001), smoking (OR 4.29, 95% CI, 3.75-4.9, P < .001), alcohol drinking (OR 1.13, 95% CI, 1.02-1.24, P < .001), and substance use (OR 25.16, 95% CI, 18.78-33.72, P < .001). These adolescents were also at greater risk of pregnancy (OR 4.05, 95% CI, 2.56-6.41, P = .01) and sexually transmitted diseases (OR 2.35, 95% CI, 1.66-3.33, P < .001).

DISCUSSION: Early menarche is significantly associated with risk-taking behavior in Korean adolescent students. This finding suggests that early educational intervention and social programs are needed for female adolescents with early menarche.