The health consequences of child marriage: a systematic review of the evidence.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Child marriage, defined as marriage before 18 years of age, is a violation of human rights and a marker of gender inequality. Growing attention to this issue on the global development agenda also reflects concerns that it may negatively impact health. We conducted a systematic review to synthesize existing research on the consequences of child marriage on health and to assess the risk of bias in this body of literature.

Methods and findings

We searched databases focused on biomedicine and global health for studies that estimated the effect of marrying before the age of 18 on any physical or mental health outcome or health behaviour. We identified 58 eligible articles, nearly all of which relied on cross-sectional data sources from sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

SUBMITTER: Fan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8845223 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature