Pubertal timing in girls and depression: A systematic review
Pubertal timing in girls and depression: A systematic review
Data
2014
Autores
Galvão, Tais F.
Silva, Marcus T.
Zimmermann, Ivan R.
Souza, Kathiaja M.
Martins, Silvia S.
Pereira, Mauricio G.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Affective Disorders
Resumo
Background: Because the incidence of depression increases after puberty, it is possible that pubertal
timing in girls influences the onset of depression. Our objective was to assess the effect of early and late
puberty in girls on the incidence of depression.
Methods: We systematically searched relevant databases for controlled studies that assessed the impact
of pubertal timing in girls on the incidence of depression or depressive symptoms. The last search was
completed in August 2013. Two authors selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the quality
of the evidence. Meta-analyses of the adjusted and unadjusted results were calculated using random
effects.
Results: Four cohort studies were included (n1⁄48055 participants). Early puberty significantly increased
the risk of new cases of depression in the unadjusted meta-analysis (RR1⁄41.33; CI 95%: 1.02, 1.73) but not
in the adjusted estimate of two of the included studies (RR1⁄41.48; CI 95%: 0.69, 2.28). For late puberty, no
significant associations were found (unadjusted RR1⁄41.28; CI 95%: 0.87, 1.88). Two studies assessed the
effect of early puberty on depressive symptoms and found positive associations. The quality of the
available evidence was rated as very low.
Limitations: The polled results had wide confidence intervals, and the available evidence was of very low
quality.
Conclusions: The available evidence supports little confidence regarding the impact of pubertal timing on
the onset of depression in girls but suggests that early puberty in girls may increase the risk of
depression. Further higher quality studies are needed to clarify the association between pubertal timing
and the incidence of depression in girls and women.
Description
Palavras-chave
Depression, Depressive disorder, Puberty, Puberty, Precocious, Puberty, Delayed, Review
Citação
Galvao TF, Silva MT, Zimmermann IR, Souza KM, Martins SS, Pereira MG. Pubertal timing in girls and depression: a systematic review. J Affect Disord. 2014 Feb;155:13-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.10.034.