Going through the rites of passage: timing and transition of menarche, childhood sexual abuse, and anxiety symptoms in girls.

Menarche is a discrete, transitional event that holds considerable personal, social, biological, and developmental significance. The present longitudinal study examined both the transition and timing of menarche on the trajectory of anxiety in girls with histories of childhood maltreatment (N = 93; 63% European American, 14% multiracial, 10% Latino, 9% African American, and 4% Native American). We hypothesized that because menarche is a novel, unfamiliar experience, girls would show greater anxiety around the time of menarche. The anxiety-provoking nature of menarche may be accentuated among earlier-maturing girls and girls with histories of childhood sexual abuse. Results indicated that earlier-maturing girls were more anxious in the pre- and peri-menarche periods than their later-maturing peers; however, their anxiety declined after menarche. Childhood sexual abuse was associated with heightened anxiety throughout this transition. The developmental significance of the timing and transition of menarche in relation to childhood sexual abuse and anxiety is discussed

Correlation of age at menarche and height in Iranian student girls living in Gorgan -Northeast of Iran

Objective: To see the association of age at menarche with adult height in girls living in Gorgan - North of Iran. Methods: This study included 100 female university students (aged 18-21 years) born between 1985-1988 and 200 intermediate school students (aged 12-15 years) born between 1992-1994. Age at menarche and its association with height were studied. Data was analyzed by SPSS v11. 5 software. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relation between menarcheal age and height. Results: There was a significant difference in the age of menarche between intermediate school students (12.20 ± 1.45 years) and university students (13.54 ± 1.30 years). This decreased by 68.54 days per 1-year. The significant positive association was between age at menarche and height. Height of students with menarche at an earlier age was less (P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in menarche age in the different socioeconomic classes. Conclusion: Girls living in Gorgan - North of Iran acquire menarche at an early age. Students with earlier menarche reach a shorter adult height

HUBUNGAN STATUS GIZI (INDEKS BB/TB DAN TB/U) DENGAN USIA MENARCHE PADA SISWI SMP NEGERI DI KECAMATAN PATI KABUPATEN PATI

Remaja puteri mulai dewasa ditandai dengan adanya menarche. Remaja putri dengan status gizi dan kesehatan yang baik perkembangan seksualnya termasuk menarche akan mengalami percepatan. Status gizi yang ada di tiap daerah berbeda beda begitu juga dengan usia menarche. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis hubungan status gizi berdasarkan indeks BB/TB dan TB/U dengan usia menarche pada siswi SMPN di Kecamatan Pati Kabupaten Pati. Jenis penelitian ini adalah explanatory dengan metode survey dan pendekatan cross sectional. Populasi sampel sebanyak 91 siswi. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan puruposive random sampling. Pemilihan lokasi dilakukan secara random dan pemilihan sampel dilakukan berdasarkan kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi. Data diperoleh dengan menggunakan kuesioner dan pengukuran. Analisis yang digunakan adalah uji korelasi Rank Spearman dengan tingkat kepercayaan 90%. Hasil penilitian ini menunjukkan bahwa usia rata-rata responden adalah 12,2 tahun (sd + 0,613), status gizi normal (indeks TB/U) 63,7% dan stunting sebesar 36,3%. Status gizi normal (indeks BB/TB) sebesar 96,7% dan gemuk 3,3%. Tidak terdapat responden yang mempunyai status gizi wasting dan sangat kurus. Hasil uji statistik menunjukkan bahwa ada hubungan yang negatif antara status gizi berdasarkan indeks TB/U dengan usia menarche (p : 0,002; r : -0,319) yang berarti semakin tinggi status gizi semakin cepat usia menarchenya dan tidak ada hubungan antara status gizi (indeks BB/TB) dengan usia menarche (p : 0,263; r : -0,119). Disarankan agar diperhatikan konsumsi gizi sejak usia dini sehingga tidak akan mengalami keterlambatan menarche. Kata Kunci: Status gizi, Usia Menarche, Remaja CORRELATION BETWEEN THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS (INDEX W/H AND H/A) AND THE AGE OF MENARCHE ON JUNIOR SCHOOLGIRLS IN PATI SUB DISTRICT, DISTRICT PATI ( Adulthood early sign of girls adolescents is menarche. Girls adolescent with good of the nutritional status and health growth of sexual of the including natural menarche acceleration. Nutritional status which in every area is different alsi with age of menarche. The aim of this research is to analyse correlation between the nutritional status pursuant to index W/H and H/A with the age of menarche on Junior Highschoolgirls in Pati with amount of simple counted 91 schoolgirls. Intake of the sample done with purposive random sampling. Location choice conducted by random and election of sample pursuant to criterion of inclusi and eksklusi. Data obtained by using measurement and questionaire. The analize to be used by correlation test of Rank Spearman with trust storey level 90%. Result of research indicate that age of menarche flatten responder are 12,2 years (sd ;0,6), the normal of nutritional status (index H/A) equal to 63,7% and Stuntung equal to 36,3%. The normal of nutritional status (index W/H) equal to 96,7% and obese equal to 3,3%. Do not there are responder having nutritional status of wasting and very thin. Statisticak tes result so that there is relation which is negative between nutritional status pursuant to index H/A and age of menarche (p : 0,002;r : -0,319). Meaning status excelsior of nutrition faster age of menarche and there no relation between nutritional status pursuant to index of W/H with age of menarche (p: 0,263 ; r : -0,119). Suggested that to be paid attention by consumption of nutrition since age early so that will not experience of delay of menarche. Keyword: Nutritional status, age of menarche,adolescent,

The Familial Clustering of Age at Menarche in Extended Twin Families

The timing of puberty is complex, possibly involving many genetic factors that may interact with environmental influences. Familial resemblance for age at menarche was studied in a sample of 4,995 female twins, 1,296 sisters, 2,946 mothers and 635 female spouses of male twins. They had indicated their age at menarche as part of a larger longitudinal survey. We assessed assortative mating for age at menarche, gene–environment interaction effects and estimated the heritability of individual differences in pubertal timing. There was significant evidence of gene–environment interaction, accounting for 1.5% of the variance. There was no indication of consistent mate assortment on age at menarche. Individual differences in age at menarche are highly heritable, with additive genetic factors explaining at least 70% of the true variation. An additional 1.5% of the variation can be explained by a genotype–environment interaction effect where environmental factors are more important in individuals genetically predisposed for late menarche

Family composition and age at menarche: findings from the international Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study

This research was funded by The University of St Andrews and NHS Health Scotland.Background Early menarche has been associated with father absence, stepfather presence and adverse health consequences in later life. This article assesses the association of different family compositions with the age at menarche. Pathways are explored which may explain any association between family characteristics and pubertal timing. Methods Cross-sectional, international data on the age at menarche, family structure and covariates (age, psychosomatic complaints, media consumption, physical activity) were collected from the 2009–2010 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. The sample focuses on 15-year old girls comprising 36,175 individuals across 40 countries in Europe and North America (N = 21,075 for age at menarche). The study examined the association of different family characteristics with age at menarche. Regression and path analyses were applied incorporating multilevel techniques to adjust for the nested nature of data within countries. Results Living with mother (Cohen’s d = .12), father (d = .08), brothers (d = .04) and sisters (d = .06) are independently associated with later age at menarche. Living in a foster home (d = −.16), with ‘someone else’ (d = −.11), stepmother (d = −.10) or stepfather (d = −.06) was associated with earlier menarche. Path models show that up to 89% of these effects can be explained through lifestyle and psychological variables. Conclusions Earlier menarche is reported amongst those with living conditions other than a family consisting of two biological parents. This can partly be explained by girls’ higher Body Mass Index in these families which is a biological determinant of early menarche. Lower physical activity and elevated psychosomatic complaints were also more often found in girls in these family environments.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The Age At Menarche In Nigerian Adolescents From Two Different Socioeconomic Classes

Menarcheal age was studied in 900 girls, half of which were from middle class families and the other half from low income class families from the Niger delta region of Nigeria. A retrospective and descriptive random sampling study was conducted through the use of questionnaires. Social class was based on parental occupation. The mean age at menarche for girls from middle class families was 12.22 ± 1.19 years while that for girls from low income families was 13.01 ± 1.44 years. Most of the children from the middle class families attained menarche at the ages of 12 and 13 while those from the low income families attained menarche at the ages of 12, 13 and 14 years.: The age at menarche of girls from middle class families was significantly lower than those of girls from the low socioeconomic class and is similar to those obtained for U.S. girls The age of menarche of girls from low income families is lower than a result of similar study obtained for rural India

Linking Health, Nutrition and Wages: The Evolution of Age at Menarche and Labor Earnings among Adult Mexican Women

This study uses a human capital framework to evaluate the impact on labor market productivity of investments in health and nutrition in Mexico. The research extends the existing literature by proposing age at menarche as an effective indicator for analyzing the impact on productivity in the labor market of health and nutritional investments during childhood and adolescence. As in the case of adult height and body mass index, indicators that have been widely used in the analysis of the health-productivity relationship, menarche is a variable that reflects the secular increase in the level of economic development of many countries in the region. Age at menarche has shown a steady decrease of approximately 3-4 months per decade in many countries over the past 150 years. This decrease is a reflection of a variety of socio-economic factors and in particular nutritional status as a child. Despite the parallels between menarche and adult height as indicators of cumulative health status, age at menarche has apparently not been previously incorporated into the analysis of the impact of health on economic development. The paper considers the correlates of age at menarche in the framework of a reduced form health production function. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of policy-sensitive health variables as determinants of age at menarche, and hence long-run female health. Hourly wages are used to measure the impact on labor market productivity of investment in health and nutrition early in the life cycle. Age at menarche is presented as a proxy for certain aspects of the health and nutritional components of human capital. The integrated human capital framework that underlies the theoretical model is developed in Schultz (1997), and applied in such works as Schultz (1996), Schultz and Tansel (1997) and Strauss and Thomas (1997).

Age at menarche and its association with the metabolic syndrome and its components

The metabolic syndrome is a major public health challenge and identifies persons at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to examine the association between age at menarche and the metabolic syndrome (IDF and NCEP ATP III classification) and its components. 1536 women aged 32 to 81 years of the German population based KORA F4 study were investigated. Data was collected by standardized interviews, physical examinations, and whole blood and serum measurements. Young age at menarche was significantly associated with elevated body mass index (BMI), greater waist circumference, higher fasting glucose levels, and 2 hour glucose (oral glucose tolerance test), even after adjusting for the difference between current BMI and BMI at age 25. The significant effect on elevated triglycerides and systolic blood pressure was attenuated after adjustment for the BMI change. Age at menarche was inversely associated with the metabolic syndrome adjusting for age (p-values: <0.001 IDF, 0.003 NCEP classification) and additional potential confounders including lifestyle and reproductive history factors (p-values: 0.001, 0.005). Associations remain significant when additionally controlling for recollected BMI at age 25 (p-values: 0.008, 0.033) or the BMI change since age 25 (p-values: 0.005, 0.022). Young age at menarche might play a role in the development of the metabolic syndrome. This association is only partially mediated by weight gain and increased BMI. A history of early menarche may help to identify women at risk for the metabolic syndrome

Menarchial Age of Secondary School Girls in Urban and Rural Areas of Rivers State, Nigeria

The menarchial age of 859 secondary school girls consisting of 508 from urban and 351 from rural area of Rivers State, Nigeria were determined, using questionnaires and interview method. Data collation revealed that 69.2% (243) of the rural population were menstruating, while 70.1% (356) of the urban population were menstruating. Mean ages of menarche were 13.19±1.32 years and 14.22±1.47 years for urban and rural areas respectively .A statistically significant lower mean menarchial age was observed in urban area girls, compared to their rural counterparts. Girls from families of high socio-economic class has significantly lower mean menarchial age in both urban and rural area. The mean age of menarche was significantly higher in girls involved in vigorous sporting activity in rural areas compared to their non-sporting counterparts. Urban school girls attain menarche earlier than those in rural area. High socio-economic class and vigorous sporting activity can be predisposing factors to low and high age of menarche respectively. There is need for redefinition of high socio-economic class in Nigeria

Perbedaan Tingkat Kecemasan Menghadapi Menarche Sebelum Dan Sesudah Diberikan Pendidikan Kesehatan Pada Siswi Kelas Vii Di Smp Negeri 46 Palembang

Background : Menarche is first menstruation experienced by teenagers aged 10- 16 and occurs in the mid period toward puberty phase. At this age, it is necessary for the teenagers to gain health education about Menarche so that the teenagers especially students of SMP Negeri 46 Palembang have better understanding dealing with it from preparation to caree decrease the anxiety level in facing it. Objective : This research aimed to investigate the differences between anxiety in facing menarche before and after health education provision at seventh graders of SMP Negeri 46 Palembang. Method : This research used quantitative approach namely pre-experimental particularly one group posttest design. 40 samples were selected by applying total sampling technique. The data were analyzed by using Wilcoxon Test. Results : The research result shows that p value 0.014 <0.05. It implied that there were the differences between the anxiety levels in facing menarche before and after health education provision at seventh graders of SMP Negeri 46 Palembang. Conclusion : Based on the research result, it is concluded that the anxiety levels after health education provision may decrease