Age at menarche and depression: results from the NHANES 2005–2016

Objective The association between early age at menarche and depression among adolescent girls and adult women has been examined in many studies. However, inconsistent results and limitations such as small sample size, low generalizability, and measurement error exist. We aimed to address these issues to assess the association between age at menarche and depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of US women aged 18 years and older.