Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
J Biosoc Sci. 2013 Sep;45(5):705-17. doi: 10.1017/S0021932013000060. Epub 2013 Mar 12.
Early onset of menarche has been shown to be associated with breast cancer and ischaemic heart disease. Studies on age at menarche of the Malaysian population are poorly documented. This study aimed to determine the influence of anthropometric and socio-demographic factors on the age at menarche of university students in Malaysia. Data were obtained in 2010-11 from 961 students between the ages of 18 and 25 years from the University of Malaya using stratified sampling, and multiple regression analysis was applied. Sixty-three per cent of students reached menarche at the age of 12 or 13 years, with the mean and median of age at menarche being 12.45 ± 1.17 and 12.01 years, respectively. Menarcheal age was positively associated with height (p<0.05) and negatively associated with BMI (p<0.001). Students from urban areas attained menarche earlier than those from rural areas (p<0.05). Students from small-sized families attained menarche earlier than those from larger families (p<0.05). First-born students experienced menarche earlier than those who were seventh-born or later. Obese and overweight students reached menarche earlier than students who were underweight or of normal weight (p<0.01). The variations in age at menarche among the Malaysian ethnic groups were statistically insignificant. The results suggest that heavier and first-born students from small families are more likely to attain menarche earlier than their counterparts.
初潮提前与乳腺癌和缺血性心脏病有关。关于马来西亚人口初潮年龄的研究记录很少。本研究旨在确定人体测量和社会人口因素对马来西亚大学生初潮年龄的影响。 2010-11 年，采用分层抽样法从马来亚大学的 961 名 18-25 岁的学生中获得了数据，并进行了多元回归分析。 63％的学生在 12 或 13 岁时经历初潮，初潮年龄的平均值和中位数分别为 12.45±1.17 岁和 12.01 岁。初潮年龄与身高呈正相关（p<0.05），与 BMI 呈负相关（p<0.001）。来自城市地区的学生比来自农村地区的学生更早达到初潮（p<0.05）。来自小家庭的学生比来自大家庭的学生更早达到初潮（p<0.05）。初潮最早的是第一个出生的学生，而第七个或以后出生的学生则最晚。肥胖和超重的学生比体重不足或体重正常的学生更早达到初潮（p<0.01）。马来西亚族群间初潮年龄的差异无统计学意义。结果表明，来自小家庭的较重和第一个出生的学生比同龄人更早达到初潮。
