Age at Menarche in the Canadian Population: Secular Trends and Relationship to Adulthood BMI

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.07.017

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 43, Issue 6, December 2008, Pages 548-554

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.07.017 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Studies from around the world indicate a trend toward younger ages of menarche. The extent of this trend in the Canadian population is unknown, and the relationship to later-life health indicators has not yet been fully elucidated. The objective of this study is to estimate the trend in age at menarche (AAM) in the Canadian population and evaluate the relationship between AAM and adult body mass index (BMI).

Methods

Our data source was a nationally representative survey (the Canadian Community Health Survey, 2.2), and analyses included 8080 women, aged 15 and older, who self-reported AAM. Height and weight were measured by the interviewers for the calculation of current BMI. We modeled the secular trend in AAM over time, and the relationship between current BMI and AAM.

Results

We found a statistically significant decline in AAM in successive age cohorts, indicating a 0.73-year (8.8-month) decrease in AAM between the oldest and youngest age cohorts in the sample. A 1-year increase in AAM was associated with a decrease in mean BMI of approximately 0.5 kg/m², after adjustment for covariates. A current age–AAM interaction term was nonsignificant, indicating that the relationship was stable throughout increasing temporal separation from puberty.

Conclusion

The observed trend toward earlier menarche could be an indicator of a change in insulin-related metabolism, possibly mediated by behavioral and environmental variables. This study suggests that AAM may be an important clinical and public health indicator of susceptibility to overweight and obesity and attendant morbidity.

Section snippets

Methods

The CCHS 2.2 was a national survey conducted in 2004 by Statistics Canada and focused on nutrition and health behaviors. The sampling frame included persons of all ages living in privately occupied dwellings in the 10 provinces of Canada. The survey has a cross-sectional design, and the sample was gathered using multistage cluster sampling. Data collection began in January 2004 and was conducted throughout the year to avoid any seasonal bias. In-person interviews lasting approximately 60

Results

Of the 13,150 women 15 years of age and older sampled by the CCHS 2.2, 12,522 (95.2%) self-reported AAM. Of these, 8111 (64.8%) agreed to direct height and weight measurements for the calculation of BMI. The final sample included 8080 women with complete data on all covariates, reflecting 61% of all eligible women in the CCHS sample. Reported age of first period ranged from 7 to 26 years, with a mean of 12.9 years. The mean of measured BMI of participating women was 26.5 kg/m², and ranged from

Discussion

The observed trend of younger AAM in women born more recently suggests a long-term trend toward an earlier AAM in the Canadian population. Similar trends have recently been reported from a number of world locations including the United States [4], [29], Mexico [1], Israel [2], and Korea [7]. Although the magnitudes of these recorded trends vary slightly, it is difficult to discern whether the changes are because of sampling differences or population-level differences, complicating any ecologic

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge advice and comments on the manuscript and study from Dr. Grant Harris, from the participants of the HCEP 504 2006 class, and from the research team at the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (CeMCOR) in Vancouver. External funding was provided in the form of salary support for M.A.H. and M.K. Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research provided salary support for M.K. and M.A.H., and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and University of British

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The median arsenic concentration in tube well water consumed by pregnant women was 80 µg/L (interquartile range 2–262 µg/L), and 55% drank water with concentrations above Bangladesh’s acceptable value of 50 µg/L. The median age at menarche was 13.0 years. The unadjusted analysis revealed 3.2 months delay in menarche for girls exposed to arsenic concentrations ≥200 µg/L compared with the girl exposed to arsenic concentrations <10 µg/L. Girls exposed to the same higher arsenic concentrations were 23% (aHR 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63–0.95) less likely to have reached menarche than girls exposed to low arsenic concentrations.
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Menarche denotes an initiation of the menstrual cycle and usually occurs between the ages of 12 and 14 years on average.1 Declining age at menarche (AAM) over the last century has been reported in many countries.2–7 Although the variation in the timing of menarche is known to be largely attributable to genetic factors, these secular trends reflect the role of environments in the initiation of menstruation.
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Original articleAge at Menarche in the Canadian Population: Secular Trends and Relationship to Adulthood BMI

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Section snippets

Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Am J Clin Nutr

Am J Clin Nutr

Mol Cell Endocrinol

J Pediatr

Appetite

Ann Epidemiol

J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs

Secular change in age at menarche in rural Oaxaca, southern Mexico: 1968–2000

Ann Hum Biol

Secular trends in age at menarche, smoking, and oral contraceptive use among Israeli girls

Prev Chronic Dis

Age at menarche in a Chuvashian rural population

Ann Hum Biol

From menarche to menopause: trends among US women born from 1912 to 1969

Am J Epidemiol

Pubertal development in girls: secular trends

Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol

Secular trends in anthropometric characteristics, physical fitness, physical activity, and biological maturation in Flemish adolescents between 1969 and 2005

Am J Hum Biol

Secular trend in age at menarche for South Korean women born between 1920 and 1986: the Ansan Study

Ann Hum Biol

Family composition and menarcheal age: anti-inbreeding strategies

Am J Hum Biol

Genetic and environmental correlations between obesity phenotypes and age at menarche

Int J Obes

Opposing influences of prenatal and postnatal growth on the timing of menarche

J Clin Endocrinol Metab

Obesity in Canada: where and how many?

Int J Obes (Lond)

Original article
Age at Menarche in the Canadian Population: Secular Trends and Relationship to Adulthood BMI