한국 여자 청소년의 초경 시기에 따른 신체 및 행동요인분석: 2013~2017 국민건강영양조사

Abstract

The age of menarche is gradually decreasing not only in Korea but also around the world, and is affected by genetic inheritance, physical traits, and the nutritional status of the individual. This study examined the average age of menarche of female adolescents and compared the physical traits, their mother’s menarche age, health status, perceived body shape and self-rated health status, lifestyle, and dietary attitude between adolescents who experienced early menarche and normal menarche. The subjects of this study were 1,009 female teenagers aged 12-18 years who had experienced menarche in the 2013-2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. From 2007 to 2017, the average menarche ages of the 12-18 year-old-female adolescents have declined gradually with each passing year, which indicates an increase in the ratio of people who experience early menarche. A comparison of the menarche ages between two groups of 12-14 years and 15-18 years old, according to the general characteristics, showed that the ratio of early menarche was higher in the 12-14 years group. The results of anthropometric measurements, including body weight, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI), showed that all measurements were higher in the early menarche group than in the normal menarche group. An analysis of BMI based on the criteria of the Korean Society for the Study of Obesity determined that the ratio of underweight was high in the normal menarche group. In contrast, the rate of obesity was high in the early menarche group. The mother’s menarche age was lower in the early menarche group. The percentage of female adolescents who have tried weight-control for one year was high in the early menarche group, and their sleep time was longer than the normal group. The drinking and smoking experience was similar in the two groups, but the age at which drinking began was younger in the early menarche group. The ratio of people who thought that they were obese was significantly higher in the early menarche group. In an analysis of dietary attitudes, the proportion of people who have been educated in nutrition was significantly high in the early menarche group.