scholarly journals Knowledge of peri-menarcheal changes and a comparative analysis of the age at menarche among young adolescent school girls in urban and rural Cameroon

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Atem Bethel Ajong ◽  
Nkengazem Nerry Tankala ◽  
Martin Ndinakie Yakum ◽  
Ikei Solange Azenoi ◽  
Bruno Kenfack

Abstract Background Menarche is an expected event that occurs during the development of every normal young girl. We designed this study to evaluate the knowledge of young school girls on puberty, menarche, and menstruation, and to update data on the age at menarche in a rural and urban setting in Cameroon. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey from February to March 2017, targeting female students aged 9 to 16 years in Yaoundé (urban) and Bamougoum (rural). Participants were included using a randomised cluster sampling and data collected using an auto-administrable questionnaire. Student t-test or the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare means, and the odds ratio used as the measure of association between age at menarche and selected covariates. Results 1157 participants were included in the study; 49.3% from an urban setting and 50.7% from a rural setting. Regarding the knowledge of our participants on puberty, menarche, and menstruation, 67.20% of rural participants had good knowledge, whereas only 46.00% had good knowledge in the urban setting. Mean age at menarche was 12.76 ± 1.33 years, with the mean age at menarche in the urban setting of 12.48 ± 1.12 years and the rural setting of 13.03 ± 1.46 years. Mean age at menarche was significantly lower in participants aged below 14 years (p-value = 0.000), those with both parents alive (p-value = 0.0461), those whose fathers had skilled occupations (p-value = 0.005), those of urban resident (p-value = 0.000), and those who watched TV everyday (p-value = 0.030). Urban residence and age below 14 years were significantly associated with an earlier onset of menarche. Conclusion Rural participants had better knowledge of puberty, menarche, and the menstrual cycle than their counterparts in the urban setting. The mean age at menarche over the last two decades has dropped by 7.4 and 4.2 months per decade in urban and rural Cameroon respectively. Mean age at menarche varies significantly with age group, urban/rural residence, state of both parents (both alive/at least one dead), occupation of the father, and frequency of watching TV. Age and urban/rural residence are associated with age at onset of menarche. The continually declining age at menarche is an alarm for future early menarche-linked morbidities.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 205-207
Author(s):  
Vaibhav Suresh Adhao ◽  
Raju Ramesh Thenge ◽  
Prashan Vishnu Ajmire

The present study was designed to determine the age at which menarche occurs among school girls in Buldana district of Maharashtra state, India. A survey was conducted among 488 girls by writing the questionnaire from schools in the selected area. Respondents completed a questionnaire that recorded age at first menstruation by the recall, residential status, type of education, and diet/food habit. The mean age at menarche was 13.44 ± 0.75 years. Most girls (72.95%) of the respondents were found of normal age menarche (12–14 years), 27.05% of late-type menarche (> 14 years), and 0% were of early menarche (less than 12 years). Our study suggests an influence of school education, residential area, and diet/food habit on menarcheal age.


Author(s):  
Jyothi Veleshala ◽  
Varun M. Malhotra ◽  
Suresh J. Thomas ◽  
Kondagunta Nagaraj

Background: Reproductive health of adolescent girls is crucial as it determines the health of future generations. School girls when experiencing menarche find themselves in a setting without water, toilets or a supportive female teacher to explain the changes happening in their body. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess knowledge and practices about menstruation in adolescent school girls of an urban slum and to find some socio-demographic determinants of menstrual hygiene.Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among 6th to 10th class school going adolescent girls from an urban slum of Telangana state. A total of 300 girls participated.Results: The mean age of the students was 11.9±3.3 years. The mean age at menarche was 13.09 (95% CI: 12.07–14.11). 25.3% had acquired prior knowledge about attaining menarche. For majority (74.2%) the knowledge was imparted by their mothers. 96.9% of school girls used sanitary pads. Significant association observed between educational status and employment status of mother and usage of sanitary pads by respondent. Almost 90% of the young women faced physical complaints or health problems during menstruation. Majority (94.3%) had religious restrictions on them during the menstruation.Conclusions: Menstrual hygiene is an issue which needs to be addressed to all adolescents, with special emphasis in slum area. Lack of awareness is a roadblock in adopting safe and hygienic menstrual practices. More emphasis should be given on improving adolescent literacy for achieving hygienic menstrual practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-75
Author(s):  
Dr. Sunita Solanki ◽  
◽  
Dr. Ajay Soni ◽  
Dr. Vesti Randa ◽  
Dr. Ramkrishna Choudhary ◽  
...  

Background: Menarche is a significant milestone in women's life. It affects the reproductive healthand well being of women. This study aims to find out the age at menarche of adolescent girls ofIndore city and its relation to various factors. Method: This was a cross-sectional study conductedin six schools of urban areas of Indore city the study group included 492 school girls of age 11 to 18years. After taking written informed consent from the parents, data was collected on the date ofbirth, family size, birth order, dietary intake, social-economic status, menarcheal age.Anthropometric measurements were done and data was analyzed. Results: Mean age at menarchewas found to be 13.2+1.24 years. It was found to be significantly associated with socioeconomicstatus, BMI and birth order. Conclusion: The mean age at menarche in this study is comparable tothat found in other Indian studies. It is found to be significantly associated with BMI andsocioeconomic status of the girls


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ebru Ataş Aslan

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we aimed to determine the range of mean age at onset of menarche (AOM) and puberty (AOP) of girls living in Aydin province and to determine the factors affecting the onset age of menarche. METHODS: A total of 1891 girls aged between 8 and 16 years attending primary, secondary and high schools in Aydin province were planned to be included in the study. A questionnaire that was prepared in line with the literature was delivered to the parents in a closed envelope. The subjects who accepted to participate in the study were examined by an experienced physician by measuring height and weight and pubertal status was defined according to Tanner scale. BMI values were calculated. RESULTS: In total, 1520 female students were accepted to the study with the permission of their families. The mean AOM of participants was 12.11±1.32 years. The mean AOM was 13.12±1.46 years for their mothers, and 12.73±1.25 years for their sisters. June was the month that menarche occurred most frequently. We observed that the children living in rural areas had an earlier age of menarche. The mean age at onset of puberty was 9.71±1.46 years. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our study is important in terms of being the first study conducted in Aydin province that determined the mean AOM and AOP of girls aged between 8 and 16. In our study, we showed that the age of menarche shifted to an early age, while the age of puberty did not shift. The age at onset of menarche and puberty were similar to the results obtained in other studies conducted in neighboring regions. We believe that larger scale studies may contribute to assess the actual mean age at menarche of girls living in Turkey.


Author(s):  
Ornanong Boonklong ◽  
Adisak Bhumiratana

Using GIS-based land use map for the urban-rural division (the relative ratio of population density adjusted to relativelyAedes-infested land area), we demonstrated significant independent observations of seasonal and geographical variation ofAedes aegyptiandAedes albopictusvectors between Muang Narathiwat district (urban setting) and neighbor districts (rural setting) of Narathiwat, Southern Thailand, based on binomial distribution ofAedesvectors in water-holding containers (water storage containers, discarded receptacles, miscellaneous containers, and natural containers). The distribution ofAedesvectors was influenced seasonally by breeding outdoors rather than indoors in all 4 containers. Accordingly, both urban and rural settings elicited significantly seasonal (wet versus dry) distributions ofAe. aegyptilarvae observed in water storage containers (P=0.001andP=0.002) and natural containers (P=0.016andP=0.015), whereas, in rural setting, the significant difference was observed in discarded receptacles (P=0.028) and miscellaneous containers (P<0.001). Seasonal distribution ofAe. albopictuslarvae in any containers in urban setting was not remarkably noticed, whereas, in rural setting, the significant difference was observed in water storage containers (P=0.007) and discarded receptacles (P<0.001). Moreover, the distributions of percentages of container index forAedes-infested households in dry season were significantly lower than that in other wet seasons,P=0.034for urban setting andP=0.001for rural setting. Findings suggest that seasonal and geographical variation ofAedesvectors affect the infestation in those containers in human inhabitations and surroundings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-199
Author(s):  
Md Abdul Karim ◽  
Jesmin Akter

Onset of menstruation is the biological and physical indicator, which is one of the important components of female reproductive characteristics. Considering its importance in the context of reproductive health and fertility, the aim of this study is to determine the mean age at menarche and also to investigate the patterns and differentials of such an important vital event of the randomly selected girls aged 9-15 years from the schools of Chittagong metropolitan area. The results of this study show that the overall mean menarcheal age of the selected girls is only 11.75±0.97 years with significant variations by their background characteristics. The co-efficient of variation (8.3%) indicates that there exists extreme heterogeneity in menarcheal age of the respondents. Co-efficient of skewness (β1=0.15) and excess of kurtosis (γ2=0.35) reflect that the shape characteristics of age at menarche is positively skewed and leptokurtic. The mean age at menarche is computed as relatively low (11.37 years) among the respondents residing in the metropolitan areas. The mean age at menarche is found the highest (12.01 years) among the underweight and the lowest among overweight (11.43 years) girls. The results from the life table technique show that unexpectedly 1.2% girls likely to attain menarche only within age of 9.67 years. The value of spread (s=16 months) shows extreme heterogeneity in menarcheal age. The values of trimean of onset of menstruation for underweight, normal and overweight girls are found 11.83, 11.58 and 11.41 years respectively. The Chittagong Univ. J. Sci. 40(1) : 178-199, 2019


Author(s):  
Ada R.C. Nwokocha ◽  
Josephat M. Chinawa ◽  
Agozie C. Ubesie ◽  
Vivian I. Onukwuli ◽  
Pius C. Manyike

AbstractMenstruation in the teenage age has assumed variable trends which is been influenced by several variables. This study is aimed at determining the pattern and trend of menstruation among teens attending secondary school in south east Nigeria and associated factors.Menstruation patterns were investigated using a stratified random sampling method of teens from junior secondary schools in Enugu, south east Nigeria. A self-administered questionnaire was developed and data analyzed using SPSS version 19.A total of 897 female teenagers aged 9–18 years completed the questionnaire with a mean age of 13.9±1.9 years. The mean age (SD) at onset of menarche was 12.5±1.2 years. Teenage girls with higher BMI achieved menarche earlier at age 8 and 9 when compared with their counterparts with lower BMI and this is statistically significant. F=7.60, df=8, p<0.001. Teens with a 14-day cycle had a higher BMI when compared with teens with longer cycle but this is not statistically significant. F=1.05, df=4, p=0.381. There is a statistical significance difference between teens duration of menstrual flow and BMI. Those with higher BMI had longer duration(4–5 days) compared with those with lower BMI. F=3.329, df=4, p=0.01This study revealed that the mean age at onset of menarche was 12.5±1.2 years showing a continuing decreasing trend. Teens with higher BMI attain menarche earlier and had longer days of periods when compared with their counterpart with lower BMI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Sylwia Bartkowiak ◽  
Jan M. Konarski ◽  
Ryszard Strzelczyk ◽  
Jarosław Janowski ◽  
Małgorzata Karpowicz ◽  
...  

Abstract Studies of age at menarche in Poland have a long history and consistently show an urban-rural gradient. The objectives of the study were to to estimate the age at menarche among school girls resident in ten rural communities of the Greater Poland province in 2016 and to compare ages at menarche by weight status and by population growth. The sample included 1146 girls, 7–16 years of age, resident in ten rural communities. Menarcheal status was obtained via interview. Heights and weights were measured; the BMI was calculated. Based on the latter, the girls were classified as thin, normal weight and overweight (including the obese) relative to IOTF criteria. Population growth between 1986 and 2016 in each community was estimated from local records. Ages at menarche were estimated with the probit regression protocol (SPSS) using the logistic model with log 10 transformation for the total sample and for the subsamples by weight status and population growth. The median age at menarche for the total sample of rural girls was 13.25±0.20 years. Menarche was earlier among Overweight (13.06±0.32 years) compared to Normal Weight (13.25±0.37 years) and Thin (13.81±0.41 years), and among girls resident in communities with Major population growth (12.58±0.44 years) compared to Little/No growth (13.65±0.14 years). Results of the present survey were generally consistent with recent surveys of age at menarche among rural girls in Poland and among girls classified by weight status. Corresponding comparative data relating menarche to population growth are lacking.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Chalise ◽  
Allin Pradhan ◽  
Chhiring Palmu Lama ◽  
Prem Prasad Panta ◽  
Shaligram Dhungel

Background and objectives: The present study was conducted to explore the mean age at menarche and associating factors among the Nepali school girls of Jorpati, Kathmandu. Materials and methods: The 500 girls of aged between 9-18 years were collected from the seven school of Gokarneshowr Municipality, Jorpati, Kathmandu after taking ethical clearance from NHRC. The healthy girls without any growth-related disorders and genetic abnormalities were included in the study. The consent was taken from the school authority and individual student by providing written consent and ascent form. The data thus collected were tabulated and analyzed by using SPSS 16. Results: The age at menarche of the respondents was 12.56 ±1.12years and menarchial age varied from 9-16 years. Similarly, the mean age at menarche of sisters and mothers were 12.96 ± 1.25 and 14.30 ± 1.58 respectively. The mean age at menarche of vegetarian group was 12.42 years as compared to non-vegetarian was 12.58 years. The lowest mean age at menarche was in Newar (12.30 years) and highest mean age at menarche in Limbu (13.33years). Followed by age at menarche in Brahmin (12.58 years), Chhetri (12.74 years), Rai (12.60 years), Lama (12.43 years), Gurung (12.66 years) and others (12.56 years). Conclusions: There was decrease in age at menarche with successive generation as a result of increase in urbanization, better dwelling and smaller family size as compared to previous generation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamsun Nahar Khalil ◽  
Safar Alsaleem ◽  
Aesha Farheen Siddiqui ◽  
Ayoub Ali Alshaikh ◽  
Meaad Mohammed Abdullah Althabet

Abstract Background Menstrual disorders including dysmenorrhea is a common problem in adolescent girls however they have attracted little or no attention in the public health agenda of most countries including Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to establish menstrual pattern among the teenagers, identify the common menstrual problems and study its impact on their life activities.Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out in Abha city among 445 secondary-school girls during the academic year 2016 - 2017. Menstrual Disorder of Teenagers (MDOT) questionnaire was used for data collection.Results The mean age of the study subjects was16.27±1.45 years while the mean age at menarche was 12.9±1.28. One in three girls reported irregular menstruation. Heavy bleeding was reported by 46/7% of the girls. Dysmenorrhea was present in 75.3% girls and 25% reported severe pain. High interference in daily life activity due to dysmenorrhea was reported by 83.9% and around 70.3% miss school. In girls reporting dysmenorrhea, there was a disturbance in school attendance among 86.5% as compared to 13.5% in those without dysmenorrhea (p< 0.001) OR=2.95(95% CI 1.78-4.91). In girls reporting dysmenorrhea, there was a disturbance in doing physical activity among 81.1% as compared to 18.9% in those without dysmenorrhea (p=0.03), OR=1.67(95% CI 1.04-2.68). Dysmenorrhea, heavy bleeding and feeling unwell significantly interfere with the life activities and among the six daily life activities, attending school was significantly affected due to menstrual symptoms.Conclusions This study confirmed that dysmenorrhoea is a common problem among adolescent school girls. A number of physical and emotional symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea affects their quality of life. Girls experiencing symptoms like moderate to severe pain that affects school attendance and interference with life activities should be effectively managed by increasing awareness.


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