Lehmann Andreas, Scheffler Christiane
Biochemistry and Biology; Human Biology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 2a 14469, Potsdam, Germany.
Am J Hum Biol. 2016 Sep 10;28(5):705-13. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22854. Epub 2016 Mar 30.
Age at menarche is one of the most important factors when observing growth and development. The aim of this study was to assess the temporal pattern in variability of menarcheal age for a historic Swiss population from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Medical health records from the Bernese women's hospital (Switzerland) were analyzed. From 10,081 women of a historical Swiss population (born from 1815 to 1954), menarcheal age was calculated. A possible decline in average menarcheal age and variance and skewness were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics, generalized additive models, and correlation.
Mean menarcheal age declined from 17.34 years (n = 358) around 1830 to 13.80 years (n = 141) around 1950. Within-cohort variance decreased from 7.5 to 2.1 year(2) . Skewness was negatively correlated with birth year (r = -0.58).
This study provided evidence for a secular trend in various statistical parameters for age at menarche since the 19th century. Furthermore, the results of the analysis of temporal pattern in variability revealed that the secular trend in menarcheal age happened in two phases. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:705-713, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
初潮年龄是观察生长发育的最重要因素之一。本研究的目的是评估19世纪和20世纪瑞士历史人群初潮年龄变异性的时间模式。
分析了瑞士伯尔尼妇女医院的医疗健康记录。从10081名瑞士历史人群（出生于1815年至1954年）的女性中计算初潮年龄。使用描述性统计、广义相加模型和相关性分析平均初潮年龄、方差和偏度可能的下降情况。
平均初潮年龄从1830年左右的17.34岁（n = 358）下降到1950年左右的13.80岁（n = 141）。队列内方差从7.5年²下降到2.1年²。偏度与出生年份呈负相关（r = -0.58）。
本研究为自19世纪以来初潮年龄的各种统计参数的长期趋势提供了证据。此外，变异性时间模式分析结果表明，初潮年龄的长期趋势分两个阶段发生。《美国人类生物学杂志》28:705 - 713，2016年。©2016威利期刊公司
