Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 July 2017
Dans l'Europe de la fin du XIXe siècle, la baisse de l'âge aux premières règles est un fait général, et déjà bien connu. Ce qui est moins connu, c'est le moment où ce mouvement s'amorce. Question importante, car parmi les facteurs qui affectent l'âge de la première menstruation — l'affaiblissement du sujet par des maladies comme la tuberculose, l'âge de puberté de la mère, etc. —, celui qui pourrait avoir subi le plus de changements dans le temps est le régime alimentaire. Les chercheurs admettent aujourd'hui que la première menstruation résulte d'un processus de maturation plus général qui est sensible à la nutrition.
The age at first menstruation (age at menarche) declined in France from 15.9 years in 1750-1799, to 15.5 in 1800-1849, 15.1 in 1850-1899, reaching finally 13.9 in 1900-1950. This decrease of two full years across two centuries probably occurred as a result of improvements in the health of the female population, rather than as a result of a greater proportion of the female population living in cities. There is in fact no big difference between the age of puberty in big cities and small towns. Menarcheal age in Paris declines rather late. The most interesting difference this study uncovers is between social classes : towards mid-nineteenth century, young women from middle-class families reached menarche about half a year earlier than women from working-class families, which suggests how important diet was. We may be able to use data on age at menarche as a guide to changes over time in the standard of living in different social classes and in different provinces. For the years before 1850 the paper relies heavily on local doctors’ estimates of the mean age at menarche, published in “medical topographies”. After 1850 systematic interview surveys done in clinical settings became increasingly available.