Age of menarche in various categories of Indian sportswomen

Association of Age at Menarche with Anthropometric Measures in Punjabi Bania Girls

INTRODUCTION

Menarcheal age is the age at which menstruation begins. Menarcheal age is regarded as a sensitive indicator of physical, biological and psychological environment.

AIM

1) To determine the menarcheal age and to examine the relationship between current age at menarche with anthropometric measures in Punjabi bania girls. 2) To develop maturity standards for Bania girls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present cross-sectional survey was carried out on 200 bania girls at the age of onset of menarche. Menarcheal data was obtained by status quo method by asking about whether menarche has been experienced or not. In the present survey adolescent girls were interviewed with the help of pre-designed questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out in SPSS software, version 16.0. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for correlation studies.

RESULTS

A total of 200 Punjabi bania girls were examined in the study. The median age of onset of menarche in these girls was 12.3 years. Menarcheal age was positively associated with bi-acromial width, bi-iliac width and arm span.

CONCLUSION

The present research has revealed secular trend in the age of onset of menarche as indicated by median age of 12.3 years in Bania girls. The bi-acromial width, bi-iliac width and arm span were also correlated with the age of menarche.

Age at menarche among in-school adolescents in Sawla Town, South Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Although a declining trend in age at menarche has been observed in developed countries over decades commonly attributed to childhood excessive weight gain and sedentary life, little is known about this case in the developing countries.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design and multistage sampling was used to include 660 school adolescents for analysis. Data collection included weight and height measurements. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were done for early and late age of menarche, in reference to average age at menarche, to measure the association of age at menarche with some socio-demographic variables and body habits.

RESULTS

The mean age at menarche was 13.9±1.2 years (95%CI, 13.8-14.0). The menarche ages ranged between 10 and 12 years for 10.5%, 13 and 14 years for 54.5%, and 15+ years for 35%. Low menarche age was independently associated with high calorie consumption, high protein diet, more coffee intake, low physical activity and parents' low educational background. Low body mass index, low parents' income, exercise, and Amhara ethnic background were associated with late menarche age.

COCLUSION

The mean menarche age found in this study was higher than the report from developed countries. But, the proportion of adolescents with low menarche age was comparable with reports from developed countries. Inactive adolescents were more likely to see menarche earlier than average age. Healthy eating habits, regular exercise and nutrition education need to be promoted among school children.

Menarche in intensively trained gymnasts, swimmers and tennis players

It has been hypothesized that young athletes, undertaking intensive training, have delayed menarche due to the effects of training at an early age, although it is known that other genetic and environmental factors contribute to this observed later menarche. As part of a longitudinal study of the effects of intensive training during puberty and adolescence we investigated age of menarche in 222 athletes and their mothers. All the sports studied (gymnastics, swimming and tennis) had later mean ages of menarche (14.3, 13.3 and 13.2 years respectively) than the previously reported UK reference value of 13.00 years. A positive correlation was found between menarcheal age in mothers and daughters (r = 0.27, p < 0.01). Analysis of covariance, using maternal menarcheal age, socioeconomic group, duration of training and type of sport, confirmed that maternal menarcheal age and type of sport were having a significant influence on subject's age of menarche. As maternal menarcheal age and sport were the best predictors of menarcheal age in the athletes we studied, it would appear that menarche was intrinsically late rather than delayed. This suggests that some form of sport-specific selection may have occurred. It therefore seems likely that late maturation of gymnasts contributes to a girl's decision to continue participating in the sport rather than intensive training delaying menarche.

Menarcheal age among Indian sportswomen

The subjects of the study were 85 Indian sportswomen from Delhi and the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, and included outstanding players of cricket, hockey, kho-kho and table-tennis, who were winners of university, state or national championships. A sample of 77 subjects selected at random was used as the control. The recall procedures suggested by Damon and Bajema (1974) were used. The combined mean age at menarche for sportswomen is 13.56 years and for the control sample is 12.7 years. Menarche was significantly delayed in those sportswomen who embarked on physical training activities before the onset of menstruation. There are also variations in the mean menarcheal age between participants in different sports specialities.

Age of menarche in Indian female basketball and volleyball players at different competitive levels

Data for the age of menarche have been collected on 98 female volleyball players and 75 basketball players. The players belonged to four different levels of competition: international, national, intervarsity and district. Menarche is significantly delayed in players as compared with the controls. There is a continuous trend of increase in the age of menarche with the increasing levels of competition; menarche is more delayed in players playing at a higher level than those at the lower levels of competition.

Antecedents and consequences of variations in girls' maturational timing

The antecedents and consequences of variations in girls' physical development are reviewed. Girls' development is highlighted because research on antecedents addresses genetic and environmental influences on menarcheal age variations, and because findings on the behavioral consequences of tempo variations have been less consistent for girls than for boys. Implications for adolescent health care are considered, particularly for the early maturing girl.

Mother-daughter differences in menarcheal age in adolescent girls attending national dance company schools and non-dancers

A combination of genetic and environmental factors is thought to contribute to age of menarche. Adolescent athletes and dancers are much more likely to have a delayed menarche than are non-athletes. To examine the possible differential influence of heredity and environmental factors on menarcheal age, 350 adolescent dancers and non-dancers and their mothers were surveyed. The dancers had a later age of menarche than did the comparison group; their mothers did not differ with respect to menarcheal age, suggesting that delayed menarche in athletes is not solely due to genetic selection as inferred by maternal menarcheal age. Maternal menarcheal age was the best predictor of menarcheal age in the comparison sample, while leanness was in the dance sample.

The Effect of Cycle Phase on the Adolescent Swimmers

In brief: Performance times of six postmen-archeal adolescents who competed on junior and senior national levels were recorded during a 12-week period. The fastest times for the 100-yd freestyle and 100-yd best event occurred during the menstrual phase and the slowest times during the premenstruum. Symptoms were rated biweekly with the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire. Subjects reported feeling better during menstruation than premenstruation, and none reported dysmenorrhea. Based on basal body temperature, five of ten cycles were clearly biphasic, two were monophasic, and three were possibly biphasic with very short luteal phases. These results, albeit from a small sample, suggest that menstrual cycle phase may affect athletic performance as measured by practice times.

A hypothesis on the role of pheromones on age of menarche

Over the last century and a half there has been a secular decline in the age of menarche in Western, industrialized cultures. This trend has been largely ascribed to improved nutrition and health, and we offer an alternative hypothesis that changes in socio-economic conditions have resulted in changes in the pheromonal climate to which prepubertal females are exposed, thereby affecting onset of menarche. Extensive data from non-human mammalian studies indicate that puberty in females is delayed by exposure to adult females, and accelerated by exposure to adult males. The mechanism is pheromonal. The pheromonal climate of the home may have changed since mothers are in the home less (more women now work) and fathers are in the home more (work day of 8 rather than 14 hr). Assuming humans respond similarly to pheromones, this change would contribute to a decline in age of menarche.

Menarche in athletes: a synthesis and hypothesis

The determinants of the timing of menarche are many, and it is difficult to isolate a single factor which may delay or accelerate this maturational event. Menarche, on average, occurs later in athletes, including ballet dancers, than in the general population. With few exceptions, the data are consistent across several countries. Swimmers are an exception to the tendency towards later menarche in athletes. In all samples of swimmers surveyed but one, menarche tends to approximate the average for the general population. The menarcheal data are consistent with other indices of biological maturity status, i.e., skeletal age and secondary sex character development. The data dealing with the effects of intensive physical training on menarche are reviewed and given the number of factors involved, it is difficult to implicate training as a factor which specifically delays menarche. A two-part hypothesis for the apparent maturity delay in athletes is thus suggested. The hypothesis combines biological selective factors (i.e., physique and skill) and social factors. Family size and composition, however, must receive more consideration. Family size influences the timing of menarche and such a trend is apparent in data for several groups of athletes.

Age at menarche in Nigerian athletes

The subjects of the study were 418 highly successful female athletes and 512 female non-athletes drawn from all over Nigeria. Recall procedures were used to ascertain the age at menarche. The study gave the following results: In general, over-all mean menarcheal age of athletes (14.13 years) was significantly higher (p less than .05) than that of non-athletes (13.57 years). Menarche was significantly (p less than .05) delayed (14.41 years) in those athletes (n = 272) who started physical activities before the onset of menstruation. The mean menarcheal age of non-athletes i.e. general population was significantly lower (p less than .05) than that established thirty years ago in Nigerian women.