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Rodríguez-Camacho MF, Sanchís-Ramón MJ, Ortiz-Barreda G, La Parra-Casado D, Gil-González D. Menarche and reproductive health in Spanish Roma women from a reproductive justice perspective: a qualitative study. Reprod Health 2024; 21:17. [PMID: 38308316 PMCID: PMC10837920 DOI: 10.1186/s12978-023-01726-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Roma women about their experience of menarche and reproductive health considering the principles of reproductive justice. DESIGN Qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with Roma women ages 18 through 67 in different neighborhoods in the southeast of Spain. Using a thematic analysis, we analyzed experiences related to menarche and menstruation and their significance for reproductive health, the preparation for the phase of menarche and intergenerational support. RESULTS The Roma women interviewed shared their approach to the experiences of menarche and menstruation as children in their family environments with a focus on access to information provided by other women in the family and community for reproductive health management. In their discourses we observed that the onset of menstruation supposes a rupture in the public and private spaces of girls and women. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study suggest that women and girls do not gain access to information that contributes to their reproductive wellbeing through their experience of menarche. Access to resources and skills to manage biological changes in adolescents could contribute to reducing the impact of cultural myths, false ideas and taboos that prevent advocacy and empowerment on issues of reproductive justice.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Félix Rodríguez-Camacho
- Autonomous Federation of Roma Associations of Alicante, FAGA, Alicante, Spain.
- Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and History of Science, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
| | | | - Gaby Ortiz-Barreda
- Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | | | - Diana Gil-González
- Department of Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine and Public Health and History of Science, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
- CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain
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Sunday OG, Elsie AO. Impact of pubertal timing and socioeconomic status on adult height and body proportions in Igbo ethnicity. Am J Hum Biol 2023; 35:e23934. [PMID: 37278346 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Age at menarche is a marker of pubertal timing that may influence adult height and body proportions. Previous studies have shown that socioeconomic status can affect age at menarche and growth patterns in different populations. This study aims to examine the associations between age at menarche, socioeconomic status, height, and leg length in a sample of Igbo ethnicity. METHODS The study used data from questionnaires and anthropometric measurements of 300 female students aged 18-25 years. Study tested the hypotheses that earlier menarche is associated with shorter stature and shorter leg length, and that these associations are modified by socioeconomic status using nonparametric analysis. RESULTS Mean age at menarche was fluctuating around 12.84 ± 1.40 and 13.59 ± 1.41 years with school girls and grew 3.0 cm taller per year birth cohort. The study also found that girls with earlier menarche were shorter adult height (162.51 ± 6.00) compared with girls who have menarche at a later age. The linear regression coefficients (bs) ranged from 0.37-0.49 in later year birth cohort and 0.37-0.44 in early year birth cohort for height. The effect of age at menarche on leg length was similar to the relation between age at menarche and birth cohort height. CONCLUSION The study will contribute to the understanding of how pubertal timing and socioeconomic status interact to shape adult health outcomes in a transitioning population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Obaje Godwin Sunday
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medical Sciences Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
| | - Ada Obi Elsie
- Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medical Sciences Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
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Diaz-Thomas AM, Golden SH, Dabelea DM, Grimberg A, Magge SN, Safer JD, Shumer DE, Stanford FC. Endocrine Health and Health Care Disparities in the Pediatric and Sexual and Gender Minority Populations: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2023; 108:1533-1584. [PMID: 37191578 PMCID: PMC10653187 DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgad124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Endocrine care of pediatric and adult patients continues to be plagued by health and health care disparities that are perpetuated by the basic structures of our health systems and research modalities, as well as policies that impact access to care and social determinants of health. This scientific statement expands the Society's 2012 statement by focusing on endocrine disease disparities in the pediatric population and sexual and gender minority populations. These include pediatric and adult lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) persons. The writing group focused on highly prevalent conditions-growth disorders, puberty, metabolic bone disease, type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, and obesity. Several important findings emerged. Compared with females and non-White children, non-Hispanic White males are more likely to come to medical attention for short stature. Racially and ethnically diverse populations and males are underrepresented in studies of pubertal development and attainment of peak bone mass, with current norms based on European populations. Like adults, racial and ethnic minority youth suffer a higher burden of disease from obesity, T1D and T2D, and have less access to diabetes treatment technologies and bariatric surgery. LGBTQIA youth and adults also face discrimination and multiple barriers to endocrine care due to pathologizing sexual orientation and gender identity, lack of culturally competent care providers, and policies. Multilevel interventions to address these disparities are required. Inclusion of racial, ethnic, and LGBTQIA populations in longitudinal life course studies is needed to assess growth, puberty, and attainment of peak bone mass. Growth and development charts may need to be adapted to non-European populations. In addition, extension of these studies will be required to understand the clinical and physiologic consequences of interventions to address abnormal development in these populations. Health policies should be recrafted to remove barriers in care for children with obesity and/or diabetes and for LGBTQIA children and adults to facilitate comprehensive access to care, therapeutics, and technological advances. Public health interventions encompassing collection of accurate demographic and social needs data, including the intersection of social determinants of health with health outcomes, and enactment of population health level interventions will be essential tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia M Diaz-Thomas
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
| | - Sherita Hill Golden
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Dana M Dabelea
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Adda Grimberg
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Sheela N Magge
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Joshua D Safer
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10001, USA
| | - Daniel E Shumer
- Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Fatima Cody Stanford
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Medicine-Division of Endocrinology-Neuroendocrine, Department of Pediatrics-Division of Endocrinology, Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard (NORCH), Boston, MA 02114, USA
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Rahimi Z, Saki N, Cheraghian B, Sarvandian S, Hashemi SJ, Kaabi J, Saki Malehi A, Shahriari A, Nasehi N. Association between Age at Menarche and Metabolic Syndrome in Southwest Iran: A Population-Based Case-Control Study. J Res Health Sci 2022; 22:e00558. [PMID: 36511376 PMCID: PMC10422154 DOI: 10.34172/jrhs.2022.93] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2022] [Revised: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age at menarche affects women's health outcomes and could be a risk factor for some diseases, such as metabolic syndrome (MetS). We assessed the association between age at menarche and MetS components in women aged 35-70 in Hoveyzeh, southwest Iran. STUDY DESIGN A case-control study. METHODS This case-control study was conducted on 5830 women aged 35-70 years in the Hoveyzeh cohort study (HCS), a part of the PERSIAN cohort study, from 2016-2018. The case group included women with MetS, while the controls were women without MetS. The MetS is determined based on standard NCEP-ATP III criteria. Data from demographic, socioeconomic, and reproductive history were gathered face-to-face through trained interviews. Moreover, laboratory, anthropometrics, and blood pressure measurements were assayed for participants. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the association between age at menarche and MetS, with adjustment for potential confounding variables. RESULTS The mean age at menarche was 12.60 ± 1.76 years old. Urban and rural women differed in age at menarche (12.58 ± 1.71 and 12.63 ± 1.83 years, respectively). The study revealed a statistically significant relationship between MetS and menarche age. The odds of developing MetS were 14% higher in women with menstrual age ≤ 11 years than in other groups. CONCLUSION As evidenced by the results of this study, the odds of having MetS were higher in women whose menarche age was ≤ 11 years. Furthermore, the association between MetS components and age groups at menarche was statistically significant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Rahimi
- Hearing Research Center, Clinical Sciences Research Institute, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Nader Saki
- Hearing Research Center, Clinical Sciences Research Institute, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Bahman Cheraghian
- Alimentary Tract Research Center, Clinical Sciences Research Institute, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Sara Sarvandian
- Clinical Sciences Research Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Seyed Jalal Hashemi
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Jamileh Kaabi
- Clinical Sciences Research Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Amal Saki Malehi
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Arman Shahriari
- Alimentary Tract Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
| | - Nahal Nasehi
- Fertility, Infertility and Perinatology Research Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
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Markevych I, Astell-Burt T, Altug H, Triebner K, Standl M, Flexeder C, Heinrich J, Schikowski T, Koletzko S, Herberth G, Bauer CP, von Berg A, Berdel D, Feng X. Residential green space and age at menarche in German and Australian adolescent girls: A longitudinal study. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2022; 240:113917. [PMID: 35007986 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2021.113917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A large multicentre European study reported later onset of menopause among women residing in greener areas. This influence on the timing of a reproductive event like menopause, raises the question whether similar associations can be observed with timing of menarche. We investigated whether exposure to residential green space was related to the age at menarche in German and Australian adolescent girls. METHODS The analytic samples comprised of 1706 German and 1474 Australian adolescent girls. Percentage of green space was calculated in 1000 m buffers around a residential address or its surrogate at the previous follow-up. Mixed effects Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore the associations. The survival object was the occurrence of menarche at the time of follow-up (15-year follow-up of the German cohorts and the study wave at 14-15 years in the Australian cohort) and number of years since baseline (10-year follow-up in the German cohort and the study wave at 10-11 years in the Australian cohort). Participants who did not reach menarche were included as censored observations. RESULTS A greener residence was not associated with the age at menarche. Null findings were consistent in the general population and in analyses stratified by socioeconomic status or urbanicity in both countries. Urban residents were more likely to have earlier menarche, and this association was consistent across Germany and Australia. CONCLUSION The results of our analysis do not support the hypothesis that residing in places with more green space can influence timing of menarche. However, given the limitations of our study, researchers should not be discouraged to further explore environmental risk factors of early menarche.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iana Markevych
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
| | - Thomas Astell-Burt
- Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (PowerLab), School of Public Health, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; School of Public Health, Peking Union Medical College and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hicran Altug
- IUF, Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Kai Triebner
- Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway; Core Facility for Metabolomics, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Marie Standl
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Claudia Flexeder
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Joachim Heinrich
- Institute and Clinic for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Tamara Schikowski
- IUF, Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Sibylle Koletzko
- Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition, School of Medicine Collegium Medicum University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Gunda Herberth
- Department of Environmental Immunology/Core Facility Studies, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carl-Peter Bauer
- Department of Pediatrics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Andrea von Berg
- Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Wesel, Germany
| | - Dietrich Berdel
- Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Wesel, Germany
| | - Xiaoqi Feng
- Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab (PowerLab), School of Public Health, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China; Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW, Sydney, Australia
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