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AGE AT MENARCHE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN BANGLADESH: SECULAR TRENDS AND ASSOCIATION WITH ADULT ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES AND SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2010

MD. GOLAM HOSSAIN ,
SAIMA ISLAM ,
SAW AIK ,
TUNKU KAMARUL ZAMAN  and
PETE E. LESTREL
MD. GOLAM HOSSAIN
Affiliation:
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Malaya, Malaysia
SAIMA ISLAM
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
SAW AIK
Affiliation:
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Malaya, Malaysia
TUNKU KAMARUL ZAMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Malaya, Malaysia
PETE E. LESTREL
Affiliation:
School of Dentistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
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Summary

Age at menarche has been shown to be an important indicator for diseases such as breast cancer and ischaemic heart disease. The aim of the present study was to document secular trends in age at menarche and their association with anthropometric measures and socio-demographic factors in university students in Bangladesh. Data were collected from 995 students from Rajshahi University using a stratified sampling technique between July 2004 and May 2005. Trends in age at menarche were examined by linear regression analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the association of age at menarche with adult anthropometric measures and various socio-demographic factors. The mean and median age of menarche were 13.12±1.16 and 13.17 years, respectively, with an increasing tendency among birth-year cohorts from 1979 to 1986. Menarcheal age was negatively associated with BMI (p<0.01), but positively associated with height (p<0.05). Early menarche was especially pronounced among students from urban environments, Muslims and those with better educated mothers. Increasing age at menarche may be explained by improved nutritional status among Bangladeshi populations. Early menarche was associated with residence location at adolescence, religion and mother's education.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 42 , Issue 5 , September 2010 , pp. 677 - 687
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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