Menarcheal age among 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 in a group of French schoolgirls

BACKGROUND

Mean age at menarche in France decreased from 12.78 years in 1979 to 12.6 years in 1994. The aim of this study was to determine mean age at first menstruation in French adolescent girls in order to study the secular trend.

METHODS

Age at first menstruation was noted to the nearest month during recording of anthropometric measurements in three secondary schools in the Aisne administrative department, France, in classes in years 7, 8, 9 and 10. A total of 339 girls aged 11-15 ½ years were examined. The majority were from a social background of workers, employees and middle managerial staff. Mean age at first menses and standard deviation were calculated using the probits method.

RESULTS

Mean age was 12.5 ± 0.08 years (χ(2) γ=14 = 16.7, P > 0.05), indicating that it had remained stable for more than 15 years.

CONCLUSIONS

A secular decline has already been observed in Belgium, Britain, Hungary, Scandinavia and the USA. In all these countries, age at menarche has reached a stable level at around 13 ± 0.5 years.

Effects of lifestyle on the onset of puberty as determinant for breast cancer

Breast cancer is more than ever the leading cause of death in women. In this article, we investigate the influence of lifestyle factors, and in particular nutrition (i.e. soft drinks), on physical development, puberty, breast growth and menarche to understand the potential impact of these environmental and lifestyle factors on the induction of breast cancer susceptibility. A questionnaire was obtained from 1146 girls of 10 schools in Belgian Limburg, attending the second year of secondary school. Their mean age was about 13 years. The analyses of the data were performed with 'survival analysis', in particular with the 'Cox regression' model for menarche. This project was conducted in the school year of 1999-2000. In the univariate and multivariate analysis investigating the most important variables of the period from birth to the age of menarche, there was clear evidence that lifestyle factors, including nutrition, have an effect on breast development and menarche. The following variables were significantly related to breast development and menarche: body mass index, drinking high-carbohydrate drinks, i.e. soft drinks, height of the father and the mother, weight of the mother at the start of pregnancy, history of mononucleosis, origin and education of the parents and physical activity. Lifestyle factors, including nutrition (i.e. soft drinks), affect the age at puberty and menarche. The same factors are known to be related to breast cancer risk. Better control of these variables during puberty might reduce breast cancer risk later in life.

The factors affecting the relation between the menarcheal age of mother and daughter

BACKGROUND

Menarche is one of the most important biologic signals in the life of a woman. Menarche is a biological variable which has a significant genotypic component in girls. In recent years, many studies reporting the earlier onset of menarche owing to the improvement of socio-economic conditions have been published.

DESIGN

We asked some questions about menarche to 1017 female students studying in the high schools of Manisa region in order to determine the menarcheal age and the correlation of menarcheal age between the mothers and daughters in our region.

RESULTS

The mean age at menarche for the girls was 12.82+/-1.07 years and for the mothers was 13.6+/-1.39 years. The mean menarcheal age of the mothers was higher than the mean menarcheal age of the girls (P<0.001). This difference persisted independent of the socio-economic status, nutritional state and physical activity of the girls. There was a significant correlation between the menarcheal age of the girls and their mothers (r=0.262, P<0.001). This correlation existed in all the girls with different socio-economic status, nutritional state and physical activity. However, this correlation disappeared in girls with body mass index (BMI)>25 (r=0.04, P=0.813). In girls with BMI<25, there was a correlation between the menarcheal age of the girls and mothers (r=0.282, P<0.001).

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the menarche occurs earlier in the daughters than their mothers. The correlation between the menarcheal age of the girls and their mothers persists under all circumstances except in obesity. The mother's menarcheal age is a good predictor of the daughter's menarcheal age in non-obese girls and the BMI is an important factor.