title: Growth differences by age of menarche in African American and White girls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Because of the rapid increases in childhood obesity coupled with decreases in the median age of menarche, there is interest in how growth (body mass index [BMI] and height) in childhood may be associated with timing of menarche.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Two research questions were addressed in this article: (a) Within each race, at what ages were BMI and height differences evident among the early-, the mid-, and the late-onset groups? And (b) within each timing group, at what ages were BMI and height differences evident between White and African American girls?
  
  
  METHODS
  The mother/child files of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used for this study. Menarcheal timing groups were identified using the 25th and the 75th percentile of the age distribution for each race. Longitudinal statistical techniques were used to estimate BMI and height as polynomial functions of age and age relative to menarche for African American and White girls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences in BMI by timing group were found. By 3 years of age, significant differences were found between early- and mid-onset African American girls, by 5 years of age between mid- and late-onset African American girls, and by 6 years of age among the three timing groups of White girls. Significant height differences were evident by 5 years of age when comparing early- to mid-onset and mid- to late-onset girls in both race groups. Comparing across race and within timing group, BMI and height differences were evident. African American girls were more likely than White girls to experience accelerated growth and earlier menarche.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is one of the few longitudinal studies of differences in growth by timing of menarche that includes data on girls younger than 5 years with large samples of both African American and White girls. Understanding when differences are first apparent is critical in establishing the critical period for prevention of these high-risk growth patterns.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. salsberry.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: Pamela J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Salsberry
authors.forename: Patricia B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Reagan
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pajer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States; D044465:White People
references.citation: Int J Androl. 2006 Feb;29(1):241-6; discussion 286-90
references.pmid: 16466545
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2003 Apr;111(4 Pt 1):844-50
references.pmid: 12671122
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2001 Apr;91(4):642-4
references.pmid: 11291382
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2004 Apr;113(4):911-7
references.pmid: 15060243
references.citation: JAMA. 2006 Apr 5;295(13):1549-55
references.pmid: 16595758
references.citation: Womens Health Issues. 2004 Nov-Dec;14(6):177-83
references.pmid: 15589767
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 May;90(5):2718-24
references.pmid: 15728207
references.citation: Am J Hum Biol. 2001 Jan-Feb;13(1):1-8
references.pmid: 11466961
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2005 Oct 1;162(7):623-32
references.pmid: 16107566
references.citation: Science. 1978 Jun 30;200(4349):1506-13
references.pmid: 663636
references.citation: Endocr Rev. 2001 Feb;22(1):111-51
references.pmid: 11159818
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2007 Mar;119(3):e624-30
references.pmid: 17332182
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2005 Sep;116(3):620-7
references.pmid: 16099850
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2004 Apr 1;159(7):671-82
references.pmid: 15033645
references.citation: Am J Hum Biol. 1995;7(4):517-527
references.pmid: 28557091
references.citation: Am J Hum Biol. 1999;11(2):209-224
references.pmid: 11533945
references.citation: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000 Sep;154(9):880-4
references.pmid: 10980790
references.citation: Nurs Res. 2002 May-Jun;51(3):140-7
references.pmid: 12063412
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Aug;80(2):441-6
references.pmid: 15277168
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2003 Feb;93(2):292-8
references.pmid: 12554589
references.citation: J Pediatr. 2001 May;138(5):636-43
references.pmid: 11343036
references.citation: Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Nov;27(11):1398-404
references.pmid: 14574352
references.citation: Vital Health Stat 11. 2002 May;(246):1-190
references.pmid: 12043359
references.citation: Science. 1970 Jul 24;169(3943):397-9
references.pmid: 5450378
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2006 Nov;39(5):625-6
references.pmid: 17046496
references.citation: Ethn Dis. 1999 Spring-Summer;9(2):181-9
references.pmid: 10421080
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2000 Sep 1;152(5):446-52
references.pmid: 10981459
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2002 Nov;110(5):903-10
references.pmid: 12415028
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Nov;66(5):1094-101
references.pmid: 9356525
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2002 Oct;110(4):e43
references.pmid: 12359816
references.citation: J Adolesc. 2003 Oct;26(5):531-45
references.pmid: 12972267
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2002 Nov;110(5):911-9
references.pmid: 12415029
references.citation: Horm Metab Res. 2001 Mar;33(3):138-43
references.pmid: 11355746