Author(s): Hossain Nassirian, Saeedeh TarvijEslami*, Hamed Shafagh, Maryam Gholami and Kimia Vatani
Purpose: Anthropometric characteristics are partly related to menarche age. We aimed to survey the age of menarche, and its relationship to weight, height and Body Mass Index in adolescent girls.
Methods: In this cross sectional study, 460 students aged 18-21 years old at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences included. Data was obtained through questiones. BMI>30 kg/m2 was considered as obesity and a menarche age of less than 11 years was considered as early menarche.
Results: The mean age of menarche was 13.32 years, in students with BMI less than 30 kg/ m2. 13.8% of the girls had menarche age of lower than 11 years. There was a significant relationship between history of age at menarche and current height, p<0.05 with no significant association between age of menarche and the current weight and BMI, (p>0.05). Age at menarche was slightly earlier in obese girls but not significantly.
Conclusions: The earlier the menarche, the shorter the final height, P<0.05. There was no significant association between age at menarche and obesity. More studies should be performed to survey in this field to enhance families care for promotion of height and health of girls.