Showing papers on "Menarche published in 1978"

Population, Food Intake, and Fertility

Abstract: Historical data provide support for the hypothesis that poor nutrition strenuous physical labor and substandard living conditions may account for the relatively small completed family size of the lower socioeconomic classes in Britain in 1850-60. The relatively late age at menarche (15.5-16.5 years) and late attainment of adult height suggests that some submaximal fecundity in combination with a late age at marriage may have also contributed to the small completed fertility of the upper classes. Married couples of this historical period produced only 6-7 children during a time when contraceptive devices were expensive and ineffective. Nutrition hard work and disease can affect fertility because reproduction requires energy and is synchronized with physical development. The undernourished female has later menarche and earlier menopause and a higher frequency of anovulatory menstrual cycles. In the adult male severe undernutrition results in loss of libido a decrease in sperm count a decrease in prostate fluid a loss of sperm mobility and even the cessation of sperm production. Historical reports indicate that about 25% of female mill workers suffered from retarded or suppressed menses and absolute sterility occurred in about 15% of marriages. Children who worked in factories had extremely slow physical growth and hence later sexual maturation. Undernutrition not the widespread use of traditional methods of contraception may also be the explanation of the completed family size of 6-7 children found in many developing countries today.

An epidemiologic study of breast cancer

Abstract: A case-control study has been conducted in four areas of Canada in which 400 cases of breast cancer matched by age and marital status with neighborhood controls were administered medical and dietary questionnaires. The study is suggestive of an increased risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women with younger age at menarche and an increased risk with delay of age at natural menopause. No protective effect of early age at first pregnancy was demonstrated in either pre- or post-menopausal women. An increased frequency of pregnancies of four months duration or less was found in cases compared to controls and a greater frequency in pre-menopausal cases compared to controls of a history of irregular menstrual periods. In pre-menopausal women no association has been found between increased height and weight as risk factors for breast cancer. For post-menopausal women, however, a weak association with increased height has been found, while a strong association with increased weight both at the time of menopause and the 12 months preceding diagnosis has ben confirmed.

Age at menarche and selected menstrual characteristics in athletes at different competitive levels and in different sports.

Abstract: Ages at menarche in 110 non-athletes, 59 high school atjletes, 53 college athletes, and 18 olympic volleyball candidates were determined through interview. The athletes attained menarche significantly later than the non-athletes (p less than .001), and the olympic athletes attained menarche significantly later than the high school and college athletes (p less than .001). The high school and college athletes did not differ significantly in the mean age at menarche. When menarche in college athletes was analyzed by specific sports, the small samples of participants in golf (n = 4), volleyball (n = 7), swimming (n = 7), basketball (n = 16), and gymnastics and track (n = 6) did not differ significantly from each other in the mean age at menarche. The olympic volleyball aspirants attained menarche significantly later than all sport-specific groups (p less than .05 to p less than .001) except the gymnastics-track and tennis (n = 13) athletes. Smaller samples of non-athletes (n = 27) and college athletes (n = 21 from volleyball and basketball), plus the olympic athletes were also interviewed regarding selected menstrual characteristics. Although the athletes reported a greater incidence of dysmenorrhea and menstrual irregularity, none of the chi square values comparing the three groups was significant.

Reproductive factors and risk for breast cancer in iceland

Abstract: A previous publication has shown that there has been a great increase in the incidence of breast cancer in Iceland. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the importance of known risk factors connected with the reproductive history of the women. In a prospective investigation of a cohort of 31,453 women we confirmed previous findings of the increased risk following higher age at first pregnancy and for nulliparous women. The age at first pregnancy and the proportion of nulliparous women have decreased with time in the Icelandic population so that these factors should have tended to decrease the risk, making the found increase still more important. The effect of parity is that the risk decreases with larger number of children and this effect is independent of the effect of age at first pregnancy. Lower age at menarche increases the breast cancer risk, but the contribution of that factor to the overall risk is negligible.

Age at menarche socio-sexual behavior and fertility.

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine factors associated with mothers age at first birth specifically to examine the process whereby age at menarche may affect the timing of the first birth. A sample of 541 black and white women aged 15-29 at time of their first birth was drawn from the birth records of residents of Brooklyn the Bronx and Queens in New York City. Mean age at menarche was 12.7 for blacks and 12.3 for whites; the mothers education was only weakly associated with age at menarche. There seems to be a direct relationship between age at menarche and fertility only for black women. Age at menarche may be a crude indicator of fecundity but does not seem to influence the timing of the first birth. However there is some evidence that for girls who did not use contraception at the time of their first sexual experience early age at menarche may be related to early age at first birth. Age at menarche does influence the timing of dating and consequently the timing of motherhood for black women only. Age at first date is correlated with age at first sexual intercourse especially for blacks.

Menstrual cycle patterns and breast cancer risk factors.

Abstract: Using a data set of women who longitudinally recorded menstrual and reproductive events, we examined menstrual cycle characteristics in relationship to early and late menarche, early and late menopause, and deferred parity, three variables epidemiologically related to breast cancer incidence. Women with late onset of menarche had longer and more variable cycles in the 10 years after menarche than did those with early onset. Women with late onset of menopause had longer and more variable cycles in the premenopausal interval than did those with early onset. Cumulative fertility in women after marriage did not differ according to cycle length and variance. Late menopause may be a breast cancer risk factor due to relative estrogen excess and progesterone lack as reflected in longer, more varied cycle patterns. Observed cycle differences between women with early and late menarche await further study of the endocrine physiology of the menstrual cycle in those groups.

The relationship of puberty to other maturity indicators and body composition in man.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between sexual development and other maturational processes in children. The word "puberty" is used as a general term to include the development of the secondary sex characters and the attainment of reproductive competence.

The age of the menopause of Australian women.

Abstract: The mean age of the menopause by probit analysis in a group of apparently healthy Australian women was 50.4 years. No relationship was found between this value and the age of the menarche or the number of children born or the age at the time of birth of the first child. The mean duration of the menstruating life was 26.3 years with a range of from 17 to 44 years.

Age at menopause in relation to reproductive history in Japanese, Caucasian, Chinese and Hawaiian women living in Hawaii.

Abstract: A multiple regression analysis was undertaken to examine the relationship between age at menopause and selected biological and sociological variables in the reproductive history of Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese and part-Hawaiian post-menopausal women living in Hawaii. The analysis was conducted using the medical history records of 196 Caucasian, 181 Japanese, 72 Chinese and 60 Hawaiian women. Age at menarche, parity and months spent breast-feeding were found to have no significant effect on age at menopause. Regression models were not found to be heterogeneous among ethnic groups and no substantial interaction of ethnic group was found with age at menarche, parity or months spent breast-feeding.

Oestrogen and pregnanediol excretion through childhood, menarche and first ovulation.

Abstract: Urinary oestrogen and pregnanediol values were measured in 24 boys and 38 girls between the ages of 2 and 13 years. Longitudinal studies were conducted on eight girls, two of whom collected for periods of 4 and 5 years which included menarche and in one case establishment of ovulation. Highly sensitive assay methods were developed for measuring the very small amounts of oestrone, oestradiol and oestriol and pregnanediol present in the urine of young children. The total oestrogen values were within the submicrogram range of 0·1–0·5 μg/24 hr in the children aged 2–8 years, with no differences seen between the boys and girls. After the age of 8 years, oestrogen values above 1 μg/24 hr began to be encountered and by age 11½ years the majority of subjects were recording oestrogen values above this figure. The rise in the oestrogen values was more rapid in the girls than in the boys. Evidence was presented that a value of approximately 1 μg/24 hr represents the minimum oestrogen production for the initiation of breast development. The oestrogen values were fluctuating with irregular periodicities at all ages and the gradual general rises seen after the age of 8 years could be arrested at any stage for a year or more. Menarche was preceded by marked periodic fluctuations in oestrogen output which peaked above 15 μg/24 hr. In all subjects studied, the initial bleeding cycles were anovulatory as judged by the low pregnanediol values, the usual pattern being one of fluctuating oestrogen production. One subject was studied fully through to the establishment of ovulation, which first occurred 12 months after menarche. The approach of ovulation was indicated by pre-menstrual rises in pregnanediol which increased in amplitude from 0·4 mg/24 hr until finally 2 mg/24 hr was exceeded (the value accepted for ovulation). Evidence was presented that the interval from menarche to ovulation in different individuals was very variable, extending from ovulation at menarche itself to periods of more than a year. Recording of self-observed symptoms of production of cervical mucus could be of considerable value in documenting these events in larger populations.

Age at menarche in Iceland.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mean age at menarche in Icelandic girls and compare it with results from other Scandinavian populations as well as in other ethnic groups. The study was performed during the school year 1972-1973 on a cross-sectional sample of 682 girls (aged 8.5 to over 17 years), constituting 9.5% of the girls from the third to eleventh forms in all the primary and secondary schools of Reykjavik. The mean age at menarche in Iceland, elicited by the status quo method, proved to be 13.06 +/- 0.10 years (S.D. 1.17 years). According to the information given by the girls (recall method), the earliest time of menstruation was 9.83 years and the latest 15.17 years, at which age all but one of the girls were menstruating.

Evolution of age at menarche in France

Abstract: The authors examine data on age at menarche among a sample of 3355 female students aged 17-21 who were born in France. The mean age at menarche is calculated and comparisons are made with data for 1841 and other years. The decline in age at menarche over time is considered and trends in other countries are also discussed (ANNOTATION)

Linear growth and pubertal development in treated congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency

Abstract: SUMMARY 21 years experience with management of seventeen cases of congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency has been analysed with respect to growth, bone maturation and related events at puberty: age at menarche and the occurrence of menstrual irregularities, this study showed that growth retardation is still a problem; that irregular treatment and prolonged exposure to adrenal androgens or oestrogens, may lead to disturbance in hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal function and may be the cause of delayed menarche, or menstrual irregularities in the case of the female. In males the start of puberty and its completion was within the normal range.

Pituitary responsiveness to LHRH and TRH in adolescent girls.

Abstract: Puberty is characterized by a progressive maturation of the hypothalamus-pituitary gonadal axis which, in girls results in menarche. The first menstrual cycles are usually irregular and anovulatory, and the subtle positive and negative regulation of sex steroids on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis has probably not reached adult maturity. An investigation has been carried out in 99 normal adolescent girls, divided into 3 groups: 1-2, 3-4 and 5 years after menarche, by measuring basal hormonal values as well as the responses to LHRH and TRH during the follicular and luteal phases. Basal FSH and LH values reached adult levels after the second year of menarche, while FSH and LH responses to 50microgram LHRH showed a regular and progressive increase from 1 to 5 years post-menarche, resulting, in the 5-year group and in spite of the half dose received, in definitely higher FSH and LH responses than those observed in the adult women after 100 microgram LHRH. This enhanced pituitary responsiveness to LHRH is due to still progressively increasing estradiol and progesterone secretions, the latter hormone remaining still lower than in the adults. Basal prolactin levels were significantly higher than those found in adult women with a slightly increased prolactin response to TRH and an exaggerated one of TSH, with normal T3 and T4 levels. These data show that from the onset of menarche to the complex and subtle adult menstrual cycle regulation, there is a continuing maturation of the hypothalamus-pituitary axis of the gonads which lasts approximately 5 years. It is characterized by increasing E2 secretion, low progesterone secretion and slightly increased prolactin levels, with a frequently impaired luteal phase. The enhanced pituitary sensitivity to releasing hormones is due to the positive feedback mechanism of E2 which is not yet associated with adequate progesterone secretion for a negative feedback, as in adult women. Thus, adolescence is still a maturation period, the onset of ovulation being the final step in this development.

The menstrual cycle in adolescents

Abstract: Data concerning onset and development of menstrual function were received by questionnaire from 740 girls attending the 10th classes of all schools in the city and the county of Jena. Menarche occurred at a mean age of 13 years and 3 months. with a standard deviation of 9.6 months. 6 girls (0,8%) had not yet observed their first bleeding at the time of the investigation. In the group of pupils studied the cycle function became regular at a mean age of 13.7 years including a standard range of 1.2 years. 396 girls observed regular bleeding intervals from the beginning of their menstrual function. 185 after a one year period of irregularity. The normal length of the menstrual bleeding ranging from 3 to 7 days was observed by 89.4% of the girls within the last 12 months prior to the investigation, a regular strength of the bleeding was reported by 82.4% of the adolescents. 39.4% of the girls affirmed the occurrence of primary dysmenorrhoea. For this reason 10 pupils regularly missed the school lessons, while 124 adolescents felt unable to take part on their lessons occasionally. Among the indications leading to gynecological examination or treatment hormonal contraception in 17 cases and artificial abortion in 4 cases are particularly worth mentioning.

Leprosy and female genital organs: a preliminary report.

Abstract: A study was conducted using 14 female leprosy patients attending the Leprosy Clinic at Nehru Hospital in Chandigarh India to determine the effect of the disease on the female reproductive organs and lifetime menstrual cycle. Leprosy was found not to have a direct effect on menstruation or fertility. 1/2 of the patients had no correlation between the disease and any obstetrical or gynecological event. The other 1/2 experienced either the onset of the disease or worsening of the symptoms at menarche pregnancy or menopause. This occurrence may be explained by the lowered body resistance during these obstetric or gynecologic events. None of the endometrial biopsies showed leprous granulomas or tubercule bacilli. Smears from menstrual blood revealed no lepra bacilli. This constitutes indirect evidence that there is no direct involvement of female genital organs in leprosy.

Study of physical and sexual growth of pre-adolescent and adolescent children of rural Hyderabad and their knowledge attitudes towards human reproduction and family planning.

Abstract: 150 boys and girls in rural Hyderabad ranging from 8-15 years of age were assessed for physical and sexual growth knowledge about human reproduction attitudes toward family planning and the source of their knowledge. Most of the children were 11-13 years of age and Hindus while 50% were school-going (Table 1). Girls exhibited an increase in height at 10-11 years of age and weight at 12 years began puberty at 11-13 years and attained menarche at 13-14 years while the boys increased in height and weight at 14 years began puberty at 11-13 years and achieved ejaculation at 14-15 years (Figures 1-2; Tables 2a-2b). 80% of the girls and more than 50% of the boys over the age of 11 years had some knowledge about pubertal changes sexual growth conception child birth tubectomy and vasectomy but only 20% were familiar with temporary contraceptive methods--Loop pills and condom (Table 3). The main source of information among boys was friends and family planning propaganda while the girls it was elders friends and family planning propaganda (Table 4). Most of the boys and girls were in favor of implementing family planning opted for a family size of less than 3 children desired a male child and chose 15 years for girls and 18 years for boys as the ideal marriage age (Table 5).

Aspects of the menstrual cycle.

Abstract: 501 women in Jamaica were surveyed and asked at what age they had their first menses their educational attainment their marital status whether they were experiencing irregular menstruation the duration of flow the timing of sexual intercourse with regard to menstruation and age at menopause. There was a decline in average age at menarche by successive age cohorts of women with differentials according to socioeconomic status (average age was lower for those higher up the economic scale). Women in higher socioeconomic groups also prolonged menstruation longer than those in lower socioeconomic groups. There was also an appreciable proportion of women with artificial menopause (mostly due to hysterectomy). 2/5 of the women had a duration of 5 days flow 96.3% of the women believed intercourse should take place just before menstruation. There was no data indicating that any women were concerned with a safe period although most preferred a time outside the period of maximum risk.

Study of pattern of sexual growth and factors influencing it in adolescent girls in Nagpur.

Abstract: The pattern of sexual growth was studied in 1039 girls in Nagpur. The mean age at the first sign of breast development was 11.2 years. It appeared 1.77 years before the first sign of pubic hair and 2.75 years before the advent of the menarche The mean age at peak height velocity war 11.5 years, 0.3 years before the first external manifestation of sexual development. Nutrition and socio-economic status of the girl seemed to have good correlation with age at menarche while no correlation appearch between family size and age at menarche.

Fecundability and Contraceptive Opportunities

Abstract: The paper by Menken and Bongaarts in this volume demonstrates how nutrition can affect fertility in non-contracepting populations through its impact on the length of the reproductive period and on the several components of birth intervals, including the length of the period of temporary postpartum amenorrhea, the waiting time to conception once menstruation resumes, and the proportion of conceptions that go to term. The nutritional status and the pattern of food intake of both mothers and infants are hypothesized to be important. Ages at menarche and menopause are clearly related to the growth, and therefore the nutritional history, of the woman (Frisch in this volume), whereas the large variability observed in postpartum amenorrhea can perhaps be better explained by the frequency, duration and intensity of nursing, independent of the nutritional status of the mother. The potential impact of secular trends or of temporal fluctuations in nutrition on the probability of conception once ovulation resumes is more difficult to evaluate, and is the subject of discussion in this paper.