Fonn, S

South African Medical Journal (SAMJ)

SCIENTIFIC LETTERSschoolchildren had not displayed a significant increase inheight- or weight-for-age z-scores between 1989 and 1999,despite a decline in mean menarcheal age, and significantincreases in skinfold thicknesses and body mass index (BMI).While the latter reflect recent improvements in nutritionalstatus, increases in overall body size (particularly stature) arelikely to require sustained improvements in living conditions. George T H EllisonInstitute of Primary Care and Public HealthSouth Bank UniversityLondonThea de WetDepartment of Anthropology and Development StudiesRand Afrikaans University Johannesburg1. Murray WA. Health Report: Health Factors in the Poor White Problem. Report of the CarnegieCommission, Part IV.  Stellenbosch: Carnegie Commission, 1932.2. Louw GJ, Naidoo SM. An assessment of growth in high and low socio-economic statusschoolchildren in South Africa. S Afr Med J 2001; 91: 992-996.3. Tanner JM. Foetus into Man: Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity . London:  Castlemead,1990.4. Ellison GTH. Between equity and prosperity: confronting social inequalities in health withinSouth Africa. In: Maharaj G, ed. Between Unity and Diversity. Essays on Nation-Building in Post-Apartheid South Africa.  Cape Town: David Phillip, 1999: 123-145.5. Hennenberg M, van den Berg ER. Test of socioeconomic causation of secular trend: statur echanges among favored and oppressed South Africans are parallel. Am J Phys Anthropol 1990;83: 459-465.6. Louw GJ. Effects of the changing political dispensation in South Africa on growth of urbansecondary schoolchildren. S Afr Med J 2001; 91: 907-908.279April 2003, Vol. 93, No. 4  SAMJTo the Editor: A national cervical abnormality  surveypublished in 2002 collected data from 20 603 women aged 20years and older. Data were collected from 10 sites covering allprovinces in South Africa and included women from rural,urban and peri-urban areas.1 The age distribution of the totalsample was similar to the national age distribution; however,there was an underrepresentation of women in the 20 - 25-yearand over 60-year categories. Nonetheless data collected onreproductive history provide us with information on a largesample that is likely to be generalisable to the South Africanpopulation.The contraceptive use rate for the 19 861 women in the studyfor whom contraceptive use data are available is illustrated inTable I. As on average  the total population is relatively old(mean age 37.7 years, range 20 - 95 years, standard deviation(SD) 11.8 years), it is not surprising that 54% of the studypopulation was not using any method of contraception andthat 8% of the study population had been sterilised. Of thosewho reported currently using a method of contraception (9 171women), 55% were using injectable contraceptives. Of interestis the very low rate of use of barrier methods, namely 0.5% ofthe total sample and 1% of the women who reported usingcontraception. Data were collected in the late 1990s, afterinitiation of condom promotion programmes. Data on the age of first intercourse were also collected and inFig. 1 the average age of first intercourse by 5-year age cohortsis presented. Women in the age cohort 20 - 25 years reportedhaving sexual intercourse for the first time at an average age of16.8 years compared with women in the age cohort 60 pluswho were on average 19.3 years of age at the time of firstsexual intercourse. These data indicate that there has been asteady decrease in the average age at first intercourse, with adecrease  of 21/2 years over the past 40 years.S FonnSchool of Public HealthUniversity of the WitwatersrandJohannesburg1. Fonn S, Bloch B, Mabina M, et al. Prevalence of pre-cancerous lesions and cervical cancer inSouth Africa — a multicentre study. S Afr Med J 2002; 92(2): 148-156.At what age are South African women first having sex?Table I. Contraceptive prevalence Method Number PercentageNone 10 690 53.8Injectable 5 028 25.3Pill 1 835 9.2Sterilisation 1 594 8.0IUCD 176 0.9Barrier 104 0.5Other 434 2.2Total 19 861 100IUCD = intra-uterine contraceptive device.Data on contraceptive use missing for 742 women.                   Fig. 1. Age at first intercourse by age cohort.

At what age are South African women first having sex?

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At what age are South African women first having sex?

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