New Delhi: Early menstruation or periods in young girls is linked to a higher risk of childhood obesity and adverse health outcomes such as heart disease and cancer, a new study has found.
This research was done on more than 70,000 women in America.
According to the study led by Harvard University's School of Public Health, the average age at first menstruation dropped from 12.5 years for women born between 1950-1969 to 11.9 years for women born between 2000-2005.
Trends were found to be more pronounced among racial minority women, such as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or mixed race, and among women who rate themselves lower in socioeconomic status.
According to the researchers, the study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Network Open), is the first to understand menstrual trends in women of all races and social strata."It is important to continue investigating early menstruation and its factors," says corresponding author Zifan Wang, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"Early menstruation is associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, such as heart disease and cancer," he said.
"To address these health concerns, which our findings suggest may begin to affect more people with a disproportionate impact on already disadvantaged populations, we need to do much more in menstrual health research," Wan said. More investment is needed.”
The research also found that menstrual cycles are taking time to become regular, with 56 percent of women born between 2000-2005 reporting regular periods within two years after their first period, compared with 1950-1969. This figure was 76 percent among women born between.
Using a diverse dataset from the Apple Women's Health Study, researchers enrolled 71,341 women between November 2018 and March 2023.A subgroup of approximately 62,000 participants self-reported the time it took for their menstrual cycles to become regular, and another subgroup provided their body mass index (BMI) at the time of their first period.
"The average age at menarche declined from 12.5 years in 1950 to 1969 to 11.5 years in 2000 to 2005," the authors wrote.
"The number of individuals experiencing early menstruation (before age 11) increased from 8.6 percent to 15.5 percent, the number of individuals experiencing very early menstruation (before age 9) increased from 0.6 percent increased to 1.4 percent, and the number of individuals experiencing late menopause (at or after age 16) decreased from 5.5 percent to 1.7 percent,'' they wrote.
The researchers found that BMI, an indicator of obesity, could explain the onset of menstruation in about half of the women who reported that information.
They wrote, "Within a subgroup of 9,865 participants with data on BMI at menarche, exploratory mediation analysis estimated that 46 percent of the temporal trend in age at menarche was explained by BMI.,
The authors say the findings provide a better understanding of menstrual health across the lifespan and how our environment affects this important vital sign.
This research was done on more than 70,000 women in America.
According to the study led by Harvard University's School of Public Health, the average age at first menstruation dropped from 12.5 years for women born between 1950-1969 to 11.9 years for women born between 2000-2005.
Trends were found to be more pronounced among racial minority women, such as Black, Hispanic, Asian, or mixed race, and among women who rate themselves lower in socioeconomic status.
According to the researchers, the study, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Network Open), is the first to understand menstrual trends in women of all races and social strata."It is important to continue investigating early menstruation and its factors," says corresponding author Zifan Wang, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health.
"Early menstruation is associated with a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, such as heart disease and cancer," he said.
"To address these health concerns, which our findings suggest may begin to affect more people with a disproportionate impact on already disadvantaged populations, we need to do much more in menstrual health research," Wan said. More investment is needed.”
The research also found that menstrual cycles are taking time to become regular, with 56 percent of women born between 2000-2005 reporting regular periods within two years after their first period, compared with 1950-1969. This figure was 76 percent among women born between.
Using a diverse dataset from the Apple Women's Health Study, researchers enrolled 71,341 women between November 2018 and March 2023.A subgroup of approximately 62,000 participants self-reported the time it took for their menstrual cycles to become regular, and another subgroup provided their body mass index (BMI) at the time of their first period.
"The average age at menarche declined from 12.5 years in 1950 to 1969 to 11.5 years in 2000 to 2005," the authors wrote.
"The number of individuals experiencing early menstruation (before age 11) increased from 8.6 percent to 15.5 percent, the number of individuals experiencing very early menstruation (before age 9) increased from 0.6 percent increased to 1.4 percent, and the number of individuals experiencing late menopause (at or after age 16) decreased from 5.5 percent to 1.7 percent,'' they wrote.
The researchers found that BMI, an indicator of obesity, could explain the onset of menstruation in about half of the women who reported that information.
They wrote, "Within a subgroup of 9,865 participants with data on BMI at menarche, exploratory mediation analysis estimated that 46 percent of the temporal trend in age at menarche was explained by BMI.,
The authors say the findings provide a better understanding of menstrual health across the lifespan and how our environment affects this important vital sign.
