Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Malaya, Malaysia.
J Biosoc Sci. 2010 Sep;42(5):677-87. doi: 10.1017/S0021932010000210. Epub 2010 Jun 9.
Age at menarche has been shown to be an important indicator for diseases such as breast cancer and ischaemic heart disease. The aim of the present study was to document secular trends in age at menarche and their association with anthropometric measures and socio-demographic factors in university students in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 995 students from Rajshahi University using a stratified sampling technique between July 2004 and May 2005. Trends in age at menarche were examined by linear regression analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the association of age at menarche with adult anthropometric measures and various socio-demographic factors. The mean and median age of menarche were 13.12+/-1.16 and 13.17 years, respectively, with an increasing tendency among birth-year cohorts from 1979 to 1986. Menarcheal age was negatively associated with BMI (p<0.01), but positively associated with height (p<0.05). Early menarche was especially pronounced among students from urban environments, Muslims and those with better educated mothers. Increasing age at menarche may be explained by improved nutritional status among Bangladeshi populations. Early menarche was associated with residence location at adolescence, religion and mother's education.
初潮年龄一直是乳腺癌和缺血性心脏病等疾病的重要指标。本研究旨在记录孟加拉国大学生初潮年龄的变化趋势及其与人体测量指标和社会人口因素的关系。2004 年 7 月至 2005 年 5 月期间，通过分层抽样技术从拉杰沙希大学采集了 995 名学生的数据。通过线性回归分析检查初潮年龄的变化趋势。采用多元回归分析评估初潮年龄与成人人体测量指标和各种社会人口因素的关系。初潮的平均和中位数年龄分别为 13.12+/-1.16 和 13.17 岁，1979 年至 1986 年出生队列呈上升趋势。初潮年龄与 BMI 呈负相关（p<0.01），但与身高呈正相关（p<0.05）。城市环境、穆斯林和母亲受教育程度较高的学生中，初潮年龄较早。孟加拉国人口营养状况的改善可能导致初潮年龄的增加。初潮年龄与青春期时的居住地点、宗教和母亲的教育程度有关。
