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Reproductive Health Mar 2017Menstruation is a natural physiological process that requires proper management. Unlike other normal bodily processes, menstruation is linked with religious and cultural... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Menstruation is a natural physiological process that requires proper management. Unlike other normal bodily processes, menstruation is linked with religious and cultural meanings that can affect the perceptions of young girls as well as the ways in which the adults in the communities around them respond to their needs.
OBJECTIVES
This review aims to answer the following questions: (1) how knowledgeable are adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries about menstruation and how prepared are they for reaching menarche, (2) who are their sources of information regarding menstruation, (3) how well do the adults around them respond to their information needs, (4) what negative health and social effects do adolescents experience as a result of menstruation, and (5) how do adolescents respond when they experience these negative effects and what practices do they develop as a result?
METHODS
Using a structured search strategy, articles that investigate young girls' preparedness for menarche, knowledge of menstruation and practices surrounding menstrual hygiene in LMIC were identified. A total of 81 studies published in peer-reviewed journals between the years 2000 and 2015 that describe the experiences of adolescent girls from 25 different countries were included.
RESULTS
Adolescent girls in LMIC are often uninformed and unprepared for menarche. Information is primarily obtained from mothers and other female family members who are not necessarily well equipped to fill gaps in girls' knowledge. Exclusion and shame lead to misconceptions and unhygienic practices during menstruation. Rather than seek medical consultation, girls tend to miss school, self-medicate and refrain from social interaction. Also problematic is that relatives and teachers are often not prepared to respond to the needs of girls.
CONCLUSION
LMIC must recognize that lack of preparation, knowledge and poor practices surrounding menstruation are key impediments not only to girls' education, but also to self-confidence and personal development. In addition to investment in private latrines with clean water for girls in both schools and communities, countries must consider how to improve the provision of knowledge and understanding and how to better respond to the needs of adolescent girls.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Attitude to Health; Female; Health Education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Hygiene; Income; Menarche; Menstruation
PubMed: 28249610
DOI: 10.1186/s12978-017-0293-6 -
Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology Jan 2019A secular trend towards earlier puberty has been observed in girls, while a similar trend has been more uncertain in boys. We estimated current ages at pubertal...
BACKGROUND
A secular trend towards earlier puberty has been observed in girls, while a similar trend has been more uncertain in boys. We estimated current ages at pubertal development in both boys and girls.
METHODS
In this population-based cohort study, 14 759 of 22 439 invited boys and girls born from 2000 to 2003 in the Danish National Birth Cohort gave half-yearly self-reported information on puberty from the age of 11.5 years and throughout puberty. This late start of follow-up limits the estimation of age at onset of puberty but not later pubertal milestones. We estimated mean age at attaining the following pubertal milestones in years with 95% confidence intervals (CI): age at menarche, voice break, first ejaculation of semen and Tanner stages for pubic hair development and breast development or genital development. Further, the difference in mean age at menarche between mothers and daughters was estimated.
RESULTS
In boys, voice break occurred at 13.1 (95% CI 13.0, 13.1) years, first ejaculation of semen occurred at 13.4 (95% CI 13.3, 13.4) years, and Tanner Genital Stage 5 occurred at 15.6 (95% CI 15.5, 15.6) years. In girls, age at menarche occurred at 13.0 (95% CI 13.0, 13.1) years and Tanner Breast Stage 5 occurred at 15.8 (95% CI 15.7, 15.9) years. Daughters had menarche 3.6 (95% CI 3.1, 4.2) months earlier than their mothers had.
CONCLUSION
These data indicate that age at menarche has declined and to some extent support a decline in age at attaining other markers of pubertal development among boys.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Child; Cohort Studies; Denmark; Female; Humans; Male; Maternal Age; Menarche; Puberty; Sex Factors
PubMed: 30307620
DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12507 -
Nutrients Nov 2022The onset of puberty has become earlier over the decades, and nutrients and diet are related to the timing of puberty onset. Hence, we aimed to investigate the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
The onset of puberty has become earlier over the decades, and nutrients and diet are related to the timing of puberty onset. Hence, we aimed to investigate the association between diet or nutrients in infancy, childhood and early puberty. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane library were searched systematically up to 15 April 2022. The pooled relative risks (RRs) or regression coefficients (beta) were estimated using the random-effect model or fixed-effect model according to the heterogeneity between studies. Twenty-two articles on diet or nutrients in childhood and six about breastfeeding in infancy were included. The prolonged breastfeeding duration in infancy could reduce the risk of early menarche (beta 0.31, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.60, = 0.045). The high intake of yogurt was associated with a 35% reduction in the risk of earlier menarche (RR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.89, = 0.008). Girls with severe food insecurity experienced later menarche (RR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.98, = 0.027). Conversely, due to the high intake of protein, the risk of early menarche increased by 8% (RR 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.16, = 0.016). High intake of yogurt, longer duration of breastfeeding, and food insecurity decreased the possibility of earlier menarche, while high intake of protein increased that risk. As a modifiable factor, diet and nutrients in infancy and childhood provide new insights into the future prevention of early puberty.
Topics: Female; Humans; Menarche; Puberty; Diet; Puberty, Precocious; Eating
PubMed: 36501034
DOI: 10.3390/nu14235004 -
Gynecologie, Obstetrique & Fertilite Nov 2016Participation in recreational physical activity is widely acknowledged to provide significant health benefits. Conversely, intense training imposes several constraints,... (Review)
Review
Participation in recreational physical activity is widely acknowledged to provide significant health benefits. Conversely, intense training imposes several constraints, such as intermittent or chronic metabolic and psychogenic training stressors and maintenance of very low body fat to maximize performance. Adolescent and adult athletic women are therefore at risk of overtraining and/or poor dietary intake, which may have several consequences for endocrine function particularly on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Female athletes, particularly those participating in sports needing leanness or low body weight, present a high prevalence of menstrual disorders with clinical manifestations ranging from delayed menarche, oligomenorrhea to primary and secondary amenorrhea. A high degree of variability according to the type of sport and the intensity of the practice is however observed. Exercise-related reproductive dysfunction may have some consequences for growth velocity and peak bone mass acquisition during adolescence and bone pathologies in adults. Recent findings highlight the endocrine role of adipose tissue and energy balance in the regulation of homeostasis and reproductive function. A better understanding of the mechanisms whereby intense training affects the endocrine systems may orient research to develop innovative strategies probably based on individualized nutritional approach to improve the medical care of these female athletes and protect their reproductive function.
Topics: Adolescent; Amenorrhea; Body Composition; Bone Density; Diet; Exercise; Female; Humans; Menarche; Menstruation Disturbances; Puberty; Reproduction; Sports; Young Adult
PubMed: 27751748
DOI: 10.1016/j.gyobfe.2016.09.001 -
Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent... Jun 2019Irregular menstrual cycles due to anovulation are well described in the first few years after menarche, but the normal developmental trajectory from anovulatory to... (Review)
Review
Irregular menstrual cycles due to anovulation are well described in the first few years after menarche, but the normal developmental trajectory from anovulatory to mature ovulatory cycles during adolescence remains undefined. In this article we review the very limited understanding of this final stage of female reproductive axis development and discuss why additional research in this area is critical to the health of women.
Topics: Adolescent; Female; Humans; Menarche; Menstrual Cycle; Menstruation Disturbances
PubMed: 30772499
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2019.02.119 -
BMC Medicine Sep 2023Few studies have investigated associations between adiposity and reproductive factors using causal methods, both of which have a number of consequences on women's...
BACKGROUND
Few studies have investigated associations between adiposity and reproductive factors using causal methods, both of which have a number of consequences on women's health. Here we assess whether adiposity at different points in the lifecourse affects reproductive factors differently and independently, and the plausibility of the impact of reproductive factors on adiposity.
METHODS
We used genetic data from UK Biobank (273,238 women) and other consortia (EGG, GIANT, ReproGen and SSGAC) for eight reproductive factors: age at menarche, age at menopause, age at first birth, age at last birth, number of births, being parous, age first had sexual intercourse and lifetime number of sexual partners, and two adiposity traits: childhood and adulthood body size. We applied multivariable Mendelian randomization to account for genetic correlation and to estimate the causal effects of childhood and adulthood adiposity, independently of each other, on reproductive factors. Additionally, we estimated the effects of reproductive factors, independently of other relevant reproductive factors, on adulthood adiposity.
RESULTS
We found a higher childhood body size leads to an earlier age at menarche, and an earlier age at menarche leads to a higher adulthood body size. Furthermore, we find contrasting and independent effects of childhood and adulthood body size on age at first birth (beta 0.22 SD (95% confidence interval: 0.14, 0.31) vs - 2.49 (- 2.93, - 2.06) per 1 SD increase), age at last birth (0.13 (0.06,0.21) vs - 1.86 (- 2.23, - 1.48) per 1 SD increase), age at menopause (0.17 (0.09, 0.25) vs - 0.99 (- 1.39, - 0.59) per 1 SD increase), and likelihood of having children (Odds ratio 0.97 (0.95, 1.00) vs 1.20 (1.06, 1.37) per 1 SD increase).
CONCLUSIONS
Our findings demonstrate the importance of considering a lifecourse approach when investigating the inter-relationships between adiposity measures and reproductive events, as well as the use of 'age specific' genetic instruments when evaluating lifecourse hypotheses in a Mendelian randomization framework.
Topics: Female; Humans; Adiposity; Menarche; Mendelian Randomization Analysis; Menopause; Obesity
PubMed: 37697382
DOI: 10.1186/s12916-023-03051-x -
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology... Jan 2023The association between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and pre-eclampsia (PE) shows inconsistent results and the underlying mediator remains unknown.
CONTEXT
The association between visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and pre-eclampsia (PE) shows inconsistent results and the underlying mediator remains unknown.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to explore the causal effect of VAT on PE risks and the mediation role of age at menarche (AAM) in explaining this relationship.
METHODS
Summary data for PE were obtained from the FinnGen genome-wide association study (3556 cases and 114 735 controls). For exposure data, 70 genetic variants associated with the predicted VAT in 161 149 European women from UK Biobank were used as instrumental variables. Inverse variance weighted and multiple sensitivity analyses were applied. We also conducted multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to test the association between VAT-associated single-nucleotide variations and PE. Next, mediation analyses were performed to study whether the association between VAT and PE was mediated via AAM.
RESULTS
In univariable MR analysis, higher volume of VAT was associated with the advancement of AAM and increased PE risk (beta = -0.33; 95% CI, -0.49 to -0.16 for AAM; odds ratio 1.65, 95% CI, 1.23 to 2.20 for PE). After adjusting for waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, and hip circumference, the multivariable MR results presented the consistent positive causality of VAT on PE. Two-step MR analysis proved an estimated 14.3% of the positive effect of VAT on PE was mediated by AAM.
CONCLUSION
Our findings provided evidence of the causal relationship between VAT and PE and proved VAT could accelerate AAM and then contribute to the risk of incident PE.
Topics: Pregnancy; Humans; Female; Menarche; Pre-Eclampsia; Mendelian Randomization Analysis; Genome-Wide Association Study; Intra-Abdominal Fat; Body Mass Index; Obesity, Abdominal; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
PubMed: 36184738
DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgac566 -
BMJ Global Health Dec 2020Understanding the timing and determinants of age at menarche is key to determining potential linkages between onset of puberty and health outcomes from a life-course...
INTRODUCTION
Understanding the timing and determinants of age at menarche is key to determining potential linkages between onset of puberty and health outcomes from a life-course perspective. Yet, we have little information in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) mainly due to lack of data. The aim of this study was to analyse trends in the timing and the determinants of menarche in LMICs.
METHODS
Using 16 World Fertility Survey and 28 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) from 27 countries, we analysed cohort trends and used fixed-effects models for DHS surveys to investigate sociodemographic and regional effects in the timing of age at menarche.
RESULTS
Trends of the mean age at menarche across time within and between countries show a declining or stalling path. Results of the determinant modelling show the relationship with wealth changes over time although not consistently across countries. We see a shift from poorer women having earlier menarche in earlier surveys to richer women having earlier menarche in later surveys in Indonesia, the Philippines and Yemen, while in Egypt, the reverse pattern is evident.
CONCLUSIONS
There is a considerable gap in both literature and data on menarche. We see a trend which is declining rapidly (from 14.66 to 12.86 years for the 1932 and 2002 cohorts, respectively), possibly at a faster pace than high-income countries and with a strong link to socioeconomic status. This study calls for menarche questions to be included in more nationally representative surveys and greater use of existing data because of its impact on life-course health in fast-ageing settings. Further studies will need to investigate further the use of the age at menarche as an indicator of global health.
Topics: Developing Countries; Female; Global Health; Humans; Income; Menarche; Poverty
PubMed: 33298469
DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003689 -
BMC Pediatrics Jan 2018An estimated 11% of births occur preterm, and survival is improving. Early studies suggested an association between preterm birth and earlier puberty. Given the adverse... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
An estimated 11% of births occur preterm, and survival is improving. Early studies suggested an association between preterm birth and earlier puberty. Given the adverse outcomes associated with early puberty this could have significant public health implications. The objective of this review was to assess the timing of puberty after preterm birth.
METHODS
Pubmed, Embase, Popline, Global Health and Global Health Library were searched using terms relating to "premature birth", "menarche", "puberty" and "follow up studies". Inclusion criteria were a population consisting of pubertal or post-pubertal adolescents and adults; studies which defined preterm delivery in participants and compared outcomes to those after term delivery; and a quantitative assessment of pubertal onset. Assessment of risk of bias was conducted using principles from the Critical Appraisal Study Process.
RESULTS
Our search identified 1051 studies, of which 16 met the inclusion criteria. In females, 8 studies found no association between preterm birth and the timing of menarche. Five studies found earlier onset in preterm infants, 1 found later onset, and 1 showed both earlier and later menarche, depending on birth weight. The range of effect of studies showing earlier menarche was - 0.94 to -0.07 years in the preterm group, with a median of - 0.3 years. In males, 2 studies showed earlier onset of puberty in the preterm group, 5 showed no difference, and 1 showed later onset. Most studies did not present outcomes in the form of a mean with standard deviation, precluding a meta-analysis. There was insufficient data to address potential confounding factors.
CONCLUSIONS
The published evidence does not suggest that being born preterm leads to a significant acceleration in the onset of puberty. This should prove reassuring for public health purposes, and for clinicians counseling parents of infants born preterm.
Topics: Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; Female; Gestational Age; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature; Menarche; Premature Birth; Sample Size; Selection Bias; Time Factors
PubMed: 29310614
DOI: 10.1186/s12887-017-0976-8 -
International Review of Psychiatry... May 2019Psychiatric symptoms that coincide with reproductive transitions are related to changes in sex steroids, but studies show that this relationship is governed by... (Review)
Review
Psychiatric symptoms that coincide with reproductive transitions are related to changes in sex steroids, but studies show that this relationship is governed by individual women's vulnerability to change rather than by differences in level. There is growing interest in the role of allopregnanolone (ALLO), a 3- reduced metabolite of progesterone and a strong allosteric modulator of the GABA receptor, in such symptoms, with enough evidence now across various times of reproductive transition to offer an overview of the role of this hormone in reproductive psychiatry. This review offers a brief overview, focusing on literature of the last 3 years, of the relationship between allopregnanolone and mood at menarche; in the menstrual cycle; in the peripartum; and in the menopausal transition. ALLO dysregulation is identified in all of these transitions and found to be associated with mood symptoms, although evidence of its exact role; its relationship to other systems; and directionality is not consistent.
Topics: Affect; Anxiety; Female; Humans; Menarche; Menstrual Cycle; Perimenopause; Pregnanolone; Psychiatry; Receptors, GABA-A; Reproductive Health
PubMed: 30701996
DOI: 10.1080/09540261.2018.1553775