Age at menarche in Portuguese rural women from Oleiros

Menstrual cycle among adolescents: girls' awareness and influence of age at menarche and overweight

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the menstrual cycle (regularity and menstrual flow length), the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and self-monitoring of the cycle in students from Lisbon region, and explore the effect of chronological age, age at menarche and body mass index (BMI) on menstrual disorders.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study with 848 girls aged 12-18 years. A questionnaire about the sociodemographic context and characteristics of the menstrual cycle, and weight and height measures were assessed. BMI was classified according to International Obesity Taskforce criteria. A descriptive analysis of the variables was made, and Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were determined.

RESULTS

Mean age at menarche was 12.4 years and mean BMI was 22.0kg/m2. Among adolescents, 59% have regular menstrual cycle, 83% have menstrual flow length of ≤6 days. 88% suffered from dysmenorrhea, among which 8,7% declare absenteeism from school and 49% took pain medication, and 65% self-monitor their menstrual cycle. Higher maternal education was associated with a higher self-monitoring of menstrual cycle among the sample (OR 1.60; 95%CI 1.15-2.17). Girls with menarche <12 years-of-age are more likely to have menstrual flow length of >6 days (OR 1.73; 95%CI 1.19-2.51) and dysmenorrhea (OR 1.87; 95%CI 1.11-3.16) than those with menarche ≥12 years-of-age. No significant association between BMI and menstrual cycle variables was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that menstrual disorders are frequent and may be associated with early menarche, but not with BMI. It is important to encourage self-monitoring of the menstrual cycle to detect menstrual disorders timely and promote health and well-being.

Performance, motivation, and enjoyment in young female basketball players: An interdisciplinary approach

The purpose of this study was to examine the variation in accumulated basketball training experience, body size, functional performance, deliberate practice motivation, achievement and competitiveness motivation and sources of enjoyment among young female basketball players, partitioning the potential variation by individuals´ biological characteristics (menarche status) and contextual characteristics (competitive age group and competitive level). We considered 114 adolescent female basketball players aged 14.3 (1.8) years. We used multilevel regression and poststratification estimations. The adolescent female basketball players selected for state-level had more accumulated experience, were taller and with better functional performance. Conditional on the data, youth female coaches tend to value (probably overvalue) size and function when selecting/promoting players, even at early age groups, likely contributing to an overrepresentation of early maturing girls in at early age groups. Players from club- and state-level were similarly highly motivated for deliberate practice and to achievement. Only for competitiveness, state-level players had higher values than club level players. The sources of enjoyment were influenced by context (competitive levels) for self-referenced competencies and others-referenced competencies. Structured programs of training and competition in youth female basketball provide a nurturing environment for the development of players´ engagement and commitment to training and excellence attainment.

The reproductive period and fertility in rural Portuguese women: time trends of biological and behavioural determinants

BACKGROUND

This paper studies the influence of biological and behavioural determinants on the reproductive period and fertility of older, rural Portuguese women (Municipality of Oleiros) and their mothers and describes the secular trends 1880-1940.

METHOD

The reproductive histories of 337 women who were 44 years and older were obtained through personal interviews. Participants were also asked about the reproductive events of their mothers.

RESULTS

The women's mean values of reproductive variables were: marriage age, 22.80 ± 3.89 years, age at first birth, 24.46 ± 4.11 years, age at last birth, 32.26 ± 6.56 years, childbearing periods, 7.76 ± 6.20 years, and effective number of children, 3.25 ± 2.06 children. The childbearing periods of participants' mothers were 8.59 ± 6.98 years, with an age at first birth of 25.11 ± 4.31 years, age at last birth of 35.33 ± 6.14 years and effective number of children of 4.45 ± 2.19 children. The women's age at marriage and the age at last birth were related to childbearing period and effective number of children. Participants were younger at first birth and at last birth and had a lower effective number of children compared to their mothers.

CONCLUSIONS

Over time mean values of the reproductive events and the effective number of children decreased slowly and were likely influenced through cultural, behavioural and healthcare changes occurring in the region.