Background: Early sexual initiation is one of the risky sexual practices. Early sexual beginning is associated with an increased risk of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unexpected pregnancies, unsafe abortion, premature deliveries, and psychosocial issues. However, there is still a lack of evidence, particularly in East Africa, where community-level factors are not investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and to identify associated factors of early sexual initiation among female youth in Eastern Africa.
Methods: A total weighted sample of 49,716 female youth was included in this analysis. STATA version 14 software was used for data extraction, recoding, and analysis. A multilevel binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify determinants of early sexual initiation in the region. Finally, Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was reported to declare the factors that are significantly associated with early sexual initiation.
Result: The prevalence of early sexual initiation in East Africa was 21.14% [95% CI: 20.00%, 21.50%]. In the multivariable multilevel analysis; being age 20-24 years [AOR = 0.65: 95% CI; 0.61, 0.69], primary [AOR = 0.73: 95% CI; 0.67, 0.78], secondary &above education [AOR = 0.30: 95% CI; 0.27,0.33], married [AOR = 1.85: 95% CI; 1.73,1.97], middle wealth [AOR = 0.78: 95% CI; 0.72,0.84], richest [AOR = 0.74: 95% CI; 0.68,0.80], and reading newspaper [AOR 0.77: 95% CI;0.71,0.83] were significantly associated with early sexual initiation.
Conclusion: The study revealed that early sexual initiation among female youth was high in East Africa. Educational status, respondent age, marital status, wealth index, age at first cohabitation, contraceptive use, reading newspaper, and place of residence were associated with early sexual initiation. Therefore, the survey findings will help policymakers, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations, design the most effective interventions. Moreover, strengthening information, education, and wealth status are important intervention areas to delay the age of early sexual debut.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12905-022-01895-8 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science & Economy, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, TR10 9FE, UK.
Promiscuous females reduce male reproductive control. Males can attempt to monopolise access to these females, but distractions and sneaky rivals mean extra copulations cannot always be blocked. By mating first, males can obtain a headstart in sperm competition, but this may be negated by sperm storage and cryptic female choice mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZhong Nan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban
July 2024
Second Ward of Endocrinology Department, First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou 450000.
Central precocious puberty (CPP) is an endocrine disorder in children caused by the early activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA), leading to elevated gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which triggers the development of gonads and the secretion of sex hormones. This eventually results in the development of internal and external genitalia and secondary sexual characteristics. CPP significantly affects the physical and mental health of children and may increase the risk of various adult diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeart Rhythm
January 2025
Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Department of Basic Sciences, California Northstate University, Elk Grove, CA. Electronic address:
Background: Friedreich's ataxia (FA) is a rare inherited neuromuscular disorder, where most patients die from lethal cardiomyopathy and arrhythmias. Mechanisms leading to arrhythmic events in FA patients are poorly understood.
Objective: This study aims to examine cardiac electrical signal propagation in mouse model of FA with severe cardiomyopathy and evaluate effects of omaveloxolone (OMAV), the first FDA-approved therapy.
Early Hum Dev
January 2025
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Puerta del Mar University Hospital, 11009 Cádiz, Spain.
Background: Trans girls may initiate early puberty blockers once puberty has started in order to prevent the development of masculine secondary sexual characteristics. Depending on how early the puberty blockers are administered, voice may have reached a certain degree of development and have acquired typically male acoustic and phonetic parameters, which can cause discomfort and affect the adolescent's quality of life.
Purpose: The aim of the present study was to (1) determine if there are differences in discomfort with the self-perceiver voice according to the moment of puberty block (PB), and (2) find a relation between vocal discomfort and variables such a voice phonetic/acoustic characteristics and self-perception of voice.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
December 2024
Laboratory of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address:
Background: It has been well-established that the allostatic load (AL) index, a cumulative score of multi-system dysregulation in response to chronic stress, is significantly increased at the time of a psychiatric diagnosis. However, no studies have investigated if there is an association between the AL index in childhood and the later development of mental health symptoms in young adults.
Methods: Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a population cohort from Bristol, United Kingdom, we investigated the AL index at age 9 years and the risks for mental health symptoms at age 24 years.
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