Abstract
A decline in the age of menarche was observed from early 1900s to the 1970s. However, it is not known if a further decline occurred thereafter.To evaluate the age of menarche in girls from Santiago, Chile and its relationship with body mass index (BMI) and socioeconomic status.We studied 1302 healthy girls aged 7 to 19 years. Age of menarche was evaluated through a questionnaire to the patient and her parents. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to determine age of menarche and Cox regression analysis was employed to evaluate the effect of the type of school and BMI on the age of menarche.The mean age at menarche was 12.7+/-0.04 years. Girls from public and private schools had their period at 12.5+/-0.1 and 13.05+/-0.05 years respectively. A negative correlation between z scores for BMI and age of menarche was observed (r-0.3: p =0.001). Girls whose menarche occurred before 11.5 years had higher z scores for BMI and a larger proportion were overweight, compared to girls who had menarche later. Cox regression analysis showed that after adjustment for BMI, age of menarche was similar in both types of schools.Age of menarche is occurring three months earlier in girls from public schools, which is associated with higher z scores for BMI. Type of school, a marker of socio-economic status in Chile, affects timing of menarche due to differences in body mass index.
Highlights
A decline in the age of menarche was observed from early 1900s to the 1970s
En Chile el primer estudio sobre la edad de menarquia fue realizado por la Dra
Menarche and the development of cardiovascular disease risk factors in adolescent girls: the Fels Longitudinal Study
Summary
A decline in the age of menarche was observed from early 1900s to the 1970s. it is not known if a further decline ocurred thereafter. Aim: To evaluate the age of menarche in girls from Santiago, Chile and its relationship with body mass index (BMI) and socioeconomic status. Conclusions: Age of menarche is ocurring three months earlier in girls from public schools, which is associated with higher z scores for BMI. En Chile el primer estudio sobre la edad de menarquia fue realizado por la Dra. Eloísa Díaz a fines del siglo 19, que determinó que en las niñas de Santiago la primera menstruación se producía a los 16 años[8]. En Chile, al igual que en el resto del mundo, también se ha observado un aumento del sobrepeso y obesidad infantil, elementos que podrían estar incidiendo en una edad de menarquia más temprana, y con ello en un inicio de la capacidad reproductiva a menor edad. Por esta razón planteamos la hipótesis que el sobrepeso y el nivel socioeconómico son elementos que influyen en la edad de la menarquia y decidimos evaluar un grupo de niñas provenientes de colegios públicos y privados de Santiago con el objetivo de determinar edad de menarquia y su relación con el tipo de colegio, un buen indicador del nivel socioeconómico, y con el peso corporal
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