Association between menstrual cycle characteristics and mental health in early adolescence.

Menstrual cycle irregularity is a biological determinant of mental health independent of sleep in adolescents

INTRODUCTION Sex differences in mental health emerge during adolescence, a period marked by the onset and the establishment of menstrual cycle. However, is rarely examined how menstrual cycle regularity, a marker of hormonal function, modulates mental health. OBJECTIVE to analyse sex differences in mental health symptoms among adolescents considering the menstrual cycle regularity and sleep. METHODS A three-group design (female students with regular cycles/FR, n=77; with irregular cycles/FI, n=59; and male students/M, n=76) in a sample of Brazilian high-school adolescents (n=212; 14–18 years) enrolled in morning and full-time classes was used to test the hypothesis that mental health symptoms follow a graded pattern across these groups. RESULTS Mean DASS-21 scores across all groups fell at or above the Mild severity threshold for mental health subscales. GLMs confirmed a monotonic gradient increase in group order (M→FR→FI) which was associated with higher scores on all outcomes (stress β/step=4.33, p<.001; anxiety β/step=4.08, p<.001; and depression β/step=2.34, p=.010; model R²=.16, .13, .08 respectively). However, no differences were observed in sleep duration, social jetlag, chronotype, sleep quality, or sleep-debt. Then, a secondary analysis assessed sex-specific associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health; higher SES was inversely related to stress, anxiety, and depression, being protective only in males (stress Males β=−2.68, p=.011/Females β=0.46, p=.614). CONCLUSION These findings support the reframing of menstrual irregularity not only as a reproductive health concern but also as a biological determinant of mental health risk in female adolescents, a vulnerability that sleep disruption and socioeconomic resources do not adequately explain.

That Time of the Month: Exploring the Relationship Between the Menstrual Cycle and ADHD Symptoms

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental condition more commonly diagnosed in males than females. Increased awareness of sex differences in ADHD presentation has seen a recent increase of female prevalence rates, yet female-specific ADHD research remains scarce. Preliminary research suggests a possible link between hormonal fluctuations within the menstrual cycle and changes in ADHD symptoms and medication effectiveness. Emerging theories like Multiple Hormone Sensitivity Theory (MHST) postulate that these changes could be due to females with ADHD being especially sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted for females with ADHD (n=357) and without ADHD (n=37) to investigate self reported changes in ADHD symptoms in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle compared to the follicular phase. This study also investigated changes in medication effectiveness and duration for medicated ADHD participants.

The association between pubertal timing and diurnal cortisol activity in middle adolescence

Whether pubertal timing across the ages of 8–15.5 years was associated with diurnal cortisol slope, the cortisol awakening response, total morning cortisol, and total daily cortisol output at the age of 15.5 years was sought.

Functional brain network correlates of pubertal timing and depressive symptoms in preadolescence.

BACKGROUND Variation in pubertal maturation relative to same-age, same-sex peers (pubertal timing) has been linked to increased risk for depressive symptoms during adolescence. This developmental period is also characterized by substantial reorganization of functional brain networks. However, how pubertal timing relates to resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) changes and depression risk remains unclear. METHODS We examined pubertal timing and rsFC associations in 9-11-year-old preadolescents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Pubertal timing was estimated using a puberty age gap approach based on parent-reported physical development. Linear mixed-effects and Bayesian multilevel models were used to assess cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between pubertal timing and rsFC across large-scale functional brain networks. We also tested whether rsFC differences explained associations between pubertal timing and later depressive symptoms. RESULTS Earlier pubertal timing was associated with heterogeneous rsFC patterns, with stronger and more widespread effects in females. Earlier pubertal timing was associated with rsFC increases and decreases across sensory-motor and association networks in females, whereas in males, associations were more limited and localized to sensorimotor and cerebellar systems. Longitudinally, earlier pubertal timing in females predicted reductions in rsFC at the 2-year follow-up, with no significant associations in males. rsFC differences did not explain the pubertal timing and later depressive symptoms association. CONCLUSIONS Pubertal timing is associated with sex-specific patterns of brain functional connectivity during early adolescence, with greater heterogeneity and broader network involvement in females. These findings suggest that pubertal maturation contributes to early reorganization of functional brain networks, although these changes did not explain subsequent depressive symptoms.

The Role of Maternal Mental Health in Early Development: Evidence from High Altitude Peru

Adversity and brainAGE associations with age of first cannabis use in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

Importance: Adolescent cannabis use is a growing concern due to its associations with long-term adverse mental health outcomes. However, the distinct, temporal associations of neurodevelopmental factors and childhood adverse life experiences (ALEs) with adolescent substance use in have not yet been fully elucidated. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study offers an unprecedented opportunity to prospectively examine neurobiological and socioenvironmental predictors of cannabis onset. Objective: To investigate magnetic resonance imaging-derived neurodevelopmental cortical brain Age Gap Estimate (brainAGE) and adverse life events as risk factors of early cannabis initiation. Design, Setting, and Participants: The ABCD Study is a longitudinal study across 22 sites in the United States. Data are collected starting at approximately 10 years old (currently at year-7 follow-up). Our analyses comprised 6688 (48% female) youth after exclusions. Main Outcomes and Measures: Cox proportional hazard models were computed to investigate brainAGE-sex interactions and 10 adversity dimensions at baseline as predictors of time to cannabis initiation up to age 18. Results: Mean age of initiation was 14.8 years (SD=1.43). Global brainAGE was modestly associated with cannabis initiation in females only (Hazard Ratio [HR]=1.05; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]=1.00-1.10, p = .049). Low socioeconomic status, caregiver substance use, family anger and arguments, and caregiver lack of supervision were associated with initiation (HRs = 1.11, 1.56, 1.09, 0.85, respectively; CIs = 1.04-1.19, 1.44-1.69, 1.09-1.19, 0.76-0.91, respectively; p's < .05). Other ALE dimensions and network-specific brainAGEs were not significantly associated with initiation. Conclusions and Relevance: Findings suggest that while cortical brainAGE may be somewhat increase vulnerability to adolescent cannabis use in females, its contributions are modest at best. In contrast, early childhood adversities such as socioeconomic factors and familial characteristics may present more substantive targets for prevention and intervention.