International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences
Authors
Age at menarche is a significant indicator of growth and sexual maturation in girls. During adolescence, anthropometry provides a tool for monitoring and evaluating the hormone-mediated changes in growth and reproductive maturation.
We aimed to examine the anthropometric status of pre- and post-menarcheal Nigerian adolescent girls attending senior secondary schools.
In this school-based cross-sectional survey, a pre-tested structured self-administered questionnaire was set for obtaining the socio-demographic data (age at menarche, number of siblings, occupation and educational attainment of their parents, etc.), while the anthropometric status data was obtained by direct measurement of weight and height. The body mass index (BMI) and the ponderal index (PI) of each participant were computed from their respective weight and height values. The study was designed to include all the students in the two schools that were randomly selected. The anthropometric indices of pre- and post-menarcheal girls were compared.
Out of a total population of 2,166 students, 2,159 (99.7%) participated but 9 questionnaires were incompletely filled and were rejected, leaving 2,150 (510 were pre-menarcheal and 1,640 were post- menarcheal) for further analysis. The mean menarcheal age was 13.44 1.32 years (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 13.38-13.5). Girls from families with high socio-economic status (SES) attained menarche 8.0 and 9.0 months earlier than their counterparts from families with middle and low SES respectively. Girls from small-size families had a significantly lower menarcheal age than their counterparts from large-size families. A comparison of the anthropometric indices of pre- and post-menarcheal girls showed: weight, 41.1 6.3 kg (95% CI = 40.6-41.6) vs 47.6 7.2 kg (95% CI = 47.3-47.9), P < 0.001; height, 146.2 5.5 cm (95% CI = 145.7-146.7) vs 153.6 9.9 cm (95% CI=153.1-154.1), P < 0.001; BMI, 16.4 1.9 (95% CI = 16.2-16.6) vs 18.8 1.6 (95% CI = 18.7-18.9), P < 0.001; and PI, 45.1 1.7 (95% CI = 45.0-45.2) vs 44.6 1.4 (95% CI = 44.5-44.7), P < 0.01.
Post-menarcheal girls were significantly taller and heavier with a higher BMI than their pre-menarcheal counterparts, but the pre-menarcheal girls possessed a better linear body as reflected by the PI.
© 2013, Author(s). This open-access article is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
Uba DS, Islam MR, Haque MI, Chowdhury AA, Shariful Islam SM, et al. Nutritional Status of Adolescent Girls in a Selected Secondary School of North-Eastern Part of Nigeria. Middle East J Rehabil Health Stud. 2020;7(4):e104331. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/mejrh.104331
Farahi H, Talebian N, Falah Tafti M, Akbarzadeh N, Razavi Z. Evaluation of Average Post-menarche Height Growth and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study. Inn J Pediatr. 2025;35(1):e153696. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/ijp-153696
Karajibani M, Montazerifar F, Nazare N, Dashipour AR. The Relationship Between Age at Menarche and Premenstrual Syndrome with Anthropometric Indices in High School Female Students in Zahedan in 2017. Zahedan J Res Med Sci. 2019;22(1):e93862. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/zjrms.93862
Afkhamzadeh A, Rahmani K, Habibi A, Faraji O. Menarche Age and Its Association to Body Mass Index and Socioeconomic Status Among School Girls in Sanandaj in North-West of Iran. Shiraz E-Med J. 2018;20(2):e69802. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/semj.69802
Tiyuri A, Ghannadkafi M, Tiyuri A, Bahramian N. Age at Menarche and Its Related Factors Among Students of Qaen, Eastern Iran: A School-Based Cross-Sectional Study. J Compr Ped. 2019;10(3):e84247. doi: https://doi.org/10.5812/compreped.84247
Last Update: 1 week ago
Last Update: 1 week ago
Last Update: 1 week ago
Last Update: 5 hours ago
Last Update: 11 hours ago
Last Update: 5 days ago
