A Comparative Study of age of Menarche between two Generations and Correlation of age at Menarche of present Generation with Nutritional status and Socio Economic Factors

Abstract

Objective: The present study was undertaken to compare the age of menarche between two generations and to observe the correlation of age at menarche of present generation with nutritional status and socio economic factors. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted at department of Physiology, Saveetha Medical College, Chennai. A total of the 400 apparently healthy and willing daughter–mother pairs were included in the study. All the parameters were recorded by standard methods mentioned in the literature. Results: The mean menarcheal age of the daughter was found to be 12.72±1.599. The mean menarcheal age of the mother was calculated to be 13.97±1.265. The difference was found to be 1.25±0.334 which is statistically significant i.e. p<0.001. The association between the menarcheal age and nutritional status i.e. Body Mass Index (BMI) has been established to be a strong statistically significant one at the level of 0.05. There is a association between the menarcheal age and socio economic status which is weak i.e. it is not statistically that significant. Conclusion: The mean age at menarche of the daughters was slightly lower than their mothers in Urban Chennai. Although the small difference in age at menarche could be an artifact of different study sites and sample characteristics, it may also reflect the downward trend of onset of menarche taking place in Urban Chennai. The study has also established that there is an association between the menarcheal age of the present generation with the nutritional status and socio economic factors.