Menstrual Patterns and Age of Menarche in Young Women from the United States

Abstract

Background Menarche is a salient event for adolescents that marks the beginning of reproductive life and the commencement of menstrual cycles. Despite this, much less is known about how the timing of menarche is related to menstrual patterns. Methods To that end, a cross-sectional sample of 523 young women in college from the United States provided data on menarcheal age, menses and cycle length, blood loss during menses, dysmenorrhea, and menstrual cycle regularity. Sociodemographic data such as age of first sexual intercourse, presence of biological father while growing up, self-reported body weight, and urban versus rural place of residence were also obtained. Results Mean menarcheal age was 12.89±1.31-years. Regarding cycle length, 42 (8.2%) of the women had cycles shorter than 21-days, 402 (78.2%) between 21 and 35-days, and 70 (13.6%) had cycles longer than 35-days. Concerning menorrhagia, 61 (11.8%) reported a small quantity of blood loss, 363 (70.1%) a medium quantity, and 94 (18.1%) reported a large loss of blood (menorrhagia). Duration of menstrual bleeding also showed variability with 33 (6.4%), 280 (54.2%), and 204 (39.5%) reporting menstrual bleeding lasting less than 3-days, 2 to 5-days, and greater than 5-days, respectively. The overall prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 61.7% (n=319) of the sample, while 36.3% (n=187) reported irregular menstrual cycles. Logistic regression indicated that early menarche, long menses duration, large self-reported amount of blood loss, and early age of first sexual intercourse were significant predictors of dysmenorrhea, while women with small self-reported amount of blood loss, a short menses duration, and long cycles were less likely to have dysmenorrhea. Concerning the timing of menarche, participants who were over-weight, grew up in urban environments, had dysmenorrhea, had early first consensual sexual intercourse, and grew up without a biological father, were more likely to have early menarche. Conclusion These findings suggest that menstrual disorders are common among a sample of young women from the United States and also identify sociodemographic variables that are related to menarcheal age.