Abstract

PIP: The finding that adolescents comprised 16.4% of 2588 cases of women with post-abortion complications treated at a Sao Paulo, Brazil, hospital during 1978-92 led to an analysis of the biological and demographic factors associated with induced abortion among women under 20 years of age. Compared to abortion patients 20 years of age and above, adolescents in this study were more likely to be single, work in domestic service, to opt for abortion rather than pregnancy continuation, and to delay abortion to 14-20 weeks of gestation. The average age at menarche in the study population as a whole was 13.4 years, with a range of 9-19 years. 81.4% initiated sexual intercourse before the age of 14 years (range, 10-39 years). The average difference between age at menarche and age at first intercourse was 2.8 years for adolescent abortion seekers compared to 5.9 years for older women, while the difference between age at first intercourse and age at onset of first pregnancy was 1.3 years among adolescents compared to 4.8 years for older women. The finding that young women are at risk of an unwanted pregnancy soon after menarche should be considered in the design of adolescent health care services.