Correlation of body mass index levels with menarche in adolescent girls in Shaanxi, China: a cross sectional study.
Menarche is a milestone for adolescent girls. The timing of menarche is influenced by genetics, social status and nutritional status (e.g., height, weight and body mass index [BMI]) and impacts future health (e.g., obesity and breast cancer). There have been many studies on trends in age at menarche among adolescent girls in China, but few have investigated associations between growth status and the timing of menarche. This study examined the association between age at menarche and growth status among adolescent girls in Western China.



The participants in this cross sectional study came from three geographical regions of Shaanxi Province. A total of 533 adolescent girls from urban and rural areas were randomly selected. Trained investigators administered a standard questionnaire to each participant during a face-to-face interview and carried out anthropometric measurements.



The average age at menarche was 13.3 years. There were statistically significant differences in BMI z-scores between pre-menarcheal and post-menarcheal girls of the same age and these differences were related to socioeconomic factors. Girls who had reached menarche, in particular those aged 13-14 years, were significantly taller (P < 0.01) and had higher BMI (P < 0.01) than girls in the same age group who had not reached menarche.



BMI is associated with the timing of menarche but socioeconomic factors are also important.
Institute of Population Research/WHO Collaborating Center on Reproductive Health and Population Science, Peking University, No.5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100871, People's Republic of China.
Zhenjie
Z
Wang
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China. tjdshn@mail.xjtu.edu.cn.
Shaonong
S
Dang
Xi'an center for disease control and prevention, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Yuan
Y
Xing
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Qiang
Q
Li
Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, People's Republic of China.
Hong
H
Yan
D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008572:Menarche / Q000502:physiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status / Q000502:physiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Adolescent girls; Body mass index; Menarche; Western China