OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the age of menarche and the prevalence of malignancies of the uterus and ovaries.

METHODS

A total of 5540 women were screened from those who participated in the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) questionnaire from 2007 to 2020, and their variable factors of age, race, education level, Poverty Impact Ratio (PIR), marital status, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, duration of moderate exercise, smoking habits, hypertension status, energy intake, diabetes and alcohol consumption habits were analysed statistically and by logistic regression.

RESULTS

Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis of the relationship between age at menarche and gynaecological cancer (uterus/cervix/ovary cancer, the following gynecologic cancers in the article refer to having at least one of these three cancers) prevalence showed a negative association between age at menarche and malignancies of the uterus and ovaries prevalence (OR: 0.82, 95% CI 0.69-0.97), with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.02). Regression results of the association between age at menarche and different types of malignancies of the uterus and ovaries found a negative association between age at menarche and prevalence in uterine cancers (P = 0.03) and no association between age at menarche and prevalence in cervical and ovarian cancers (P = 0.17, P = 0.29). Those with a younger age at menarche were more likely to develop uterine cancer (OR: 0.72, 95% CI 0.54-0.98).

CONCLUSIONS

There was a correlation between age at menarche and malignancies of the uterus and ovaries, with those who had menarche at an earlier age being at a higher risk of uterine cancer.