Age at menarche in contemporary Greek girls: evidence for levelling-off of the secular trend

AIM: To examine the secular trend of menarcheal age in Greek girls during the last decade. METHODS: Seven hundred and fifty senior high schoolgirls were asked through a questionnaire to report their date of menarche, participation in physical activities and their weight status at menarche. The data were compared with those of a study of 1996. RESULTS: Mean age at menarche (+/-SD) in 2006 was 12.29 (1.19) and in 1996 it was 12.27 (1.13) years, p = 0.73. Maternal menarcheal age was 13.02 (1.32). There was a significant correlation between age at menarche of the schoolgirls and their mothers, p < 0.0001. There was a significant difference in the age at menarche according to the schoolgirls' perceived weight status. Menarcheal age of obese girls (n = 56) was 11.73 (1.21) years, of normal weight girls (n = 474) was 12.29 (1.21) years and of lean girls (n = 220) was 12.42 (1.14) years, p < 0.001. There was no significant difference in the age at menarche between the girls that participated, 12.23 (1.19), and those that did not participate in sporting activities, 12.32 (1.19), p = 0.31. CONCLUSION: Levelling-off of the age at menarche over the last 10 years occurred in Greek girls living in Athens. Menarcheal age is influenced by the weight status and maternal menarcheal age.     

‘This is a natural process’: managing menstrual stigma in Nepal

Menstrual stigma has been demonstrated in many societies. However, there is little research on menstrual attitudes in South Asia, despite religiously-based menstrual restrictions imposed on women. To understand menstrual stigma in this context, we conducted qualitative research with women in Nepal. Nepali Hinduism forbids menstruating women to enter a temple or kitchen, share a bed with a husband or touch a male relative. During menstruation, women are ‘untouchable’. There has been virtually no research on how Nepali women make meaning of these practices. The current study employed focus groups and individual interviews to understand how some Nepali women experience menarche and menstrual stigma. We explored how women describe their experiences and the strategies they adopt to manage age-old stigma in a rapidly modernising society where they have multiple roles as workers, wives and mothers. Participants reported they experienced menarche with little preparation, which caused distress, and were subjected to ongoing stigmatisation as menstruating women. They described coping strategies to reduce the effects of this stigma. This study provides a unique perspective on coping with menstrual stigma in South Asia.     

Menarcheal age among urban Kenyan primary school girls

Aim: To determine the mean menarcheal age among urban primary school girls in Kenya. Subjects and methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to 820 primary grade 6–8 girls aged between 12 and 17 years in five public primary schools, Langata division of Nairobi West district, Nairobi Kenya. The girls came from low and middle socioeconomic status residences. Declared menarcheal age by recall to the nearest month was recorded. Data were analysed using SPSS version 15.0 for windows. The results are presented using tables and bar charts. Results: The mean menarcheal age was 12.5 ± 2.8 years with peak at 12–14 years. A substantial number of girls (10.8%) attained menarche before the age of 11 years, with 2% of them attaining it before 10 years. None attained menarche before nine or after 16 years. Of those who attained early menarche, 64.3% were from middle while only 35.7% came from low socioeconomic status residence, respectively. Conclusion: Mean menarcheal age of 12.5 years is lower than previously reported with over 10% of the girls attaining menarche by 11 years. Early commencement of reproductive health education and follow‐up for complications of early menarche is recommended.     

Obesity and age at menarche

A cohort study of 3,169 girls born in April 1984-April 1987 in Odense and Aalborg, Denmark, was performed to examine whether maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) accounted for daughter's age of menarche (AOM) and, if so, whether it accounted for part or all of the association between daughter's BMI and AOM. Multiple regression analyses adjusted for covariates indicated a weak inverse association between maternal BMI and AOM and a much stronger inverse association between offspring BMI and AOM independent of maternal BMI.     

CYP Gene Polymorphisms and Early Menarche

Early age at menarche is a risk factor for breast cancer. A previous study reported a significant positive association between the CYP3A4*1B variant allele and early puberty. We investigated whether polymorphisms of the CYP3A4, CYP17, CYP1B1, and CYP1A2 genes predict the age at onset of menarche. Five hundred eighty-three nulliparous women between ages 17 and 35, of various ethnic backgrounds, completed a questionnaire that included information about menstrual history. Samples of DNA were provided and used to genotype these women for polymorphic variants in the four genes. There was no significant difference in mean age at menarche between women who carried two variant CYP17 A2 alleles (12.5 years) and women who carried one or no variant allele (12.5 years) (P = 0.8, adjusted for ethnic group and year of birth). Similar results were found for the CYP1B1*3 variant allele and for the CYP1A2*1F variant allele. Women who carried two variant CYP3A4*1B alleles had an earlier mean age at menarche (12.0 years) than women who carried one or no variant allele (12.6 years) (P = 0.02). However, after adjusting for ethnic group and year of birth, no significant differences in mean age at menarche were found. The polymorphic variants of the CYP3A4, CYP17, CYP1B1, and CYP1A2 genes are unlikely to influence age of menarche.     

高密地区青少年膝及踝部长骨干骺的融合

目的：探讨青少年干骺融合情况,为体质人类学和医学积累研究资料。方法：高密地区10-20岁汉族青少年1461人,分11个年龄段,拍摄双膝关节和双踝关节前后位x线片,分别进行股骨下端、胫腓骨上下端干骺融合情况的观测,调查女生月经初潮时间。结果：(1)男女股骨下端、胫腓骨上下端干骺融合时间均有提前,且女生比男生早。(2)月经初潮出现年龄为12．9岁,有提前趋势,初潮年龄与骨龄特别是股骨下端、胫骨下端和腓骨下端关系最为密切。结论：为临床诊断和治疗矮小症患者、适时制定青少年骨龄标准、选拔运动员特别是女运动员提供了可靠的资料。     

Effect of age at menarche on the mother’s weight status two and four years after delivery: a cohort study

ABSTRACT

We aimed to estimate the effect of age at menarche on the risk of excess body weight in Brazilian women two and four years after delivery. This was a cohort study that used data from adult women of the Predictors of Maternal and Child Excess Body Weight (PREDI) Study obtained at baseline (2012) and at 1^st(2014) and 2^nd(2016) follow-up. A total of 435 women attending a public maternity hospital in Joinville-Brazil were initially included in the study (baseline) and 215 of them continued to participate in the 2^nd follow-up carried out in the homes of the participants. Regression analysis was used to estimate the association between age at menarche (<12; ≥12 years) and excess body weight (≥25 kg/m²) trajectory during the follow-ups. Unadjusted analysis showed that mothers with age at menarche <12 years were 1.29 times (p = .018) more likely to be overweight/obese than those with age at menarche ≥12 years. After adjustment, age at menarche continued to exert an independent effect on the mother’s body mass index (RR = 1.23; p = .037) four years after delivery. Strategies designed to attenuate the rising prevalence of maternal overweight and obesity, especially after pregnancy, could help improve the mother’s health status in the future.     

Reproductive history and allergic rhinitis among 31145 Danish women

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A successful pregnancy is associated with a strong skewing of the immune system towards a Th2-type immune response. Because such a deviation is also the hallmark of allergic disease, it was investigated whether allergic rhinitis in women was associated with an increased likelihood of becoming pregnant and having a successful outcome of pregnancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Information on allergic rhinitis and reproductive history was obtained for 31145 pregnant women who participated in a national birth cohort study in Denmark during September 1997 to March 2000, and for whom complete information on siblings and place of residence and birth was available via the Civil Registration System. Data were analysed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Women who had previously been pregnant (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.98) or who had given birth previously (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.85-0.98) were less likely to report allergic rhinitis than others. The number of previous spontaneous abortions, gestational week of the first spontaneous abortion and fertility treatment were not associated with allergic rhinitis. Women who had waited less than a year to become pregnant more often had allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.06-1.32, P = 0.002) than women who had waited for more than a year. Early age at menarche was associated with an increased likelihood of allergic rhinitis (Ptrend = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not support the hypothesis that an atopic genotype overall should be associated with an increased likelihood of successful outcome of pregnancies, but it might be associated with a decreased waiting time to pregnancy.