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Intercorrelations between menstrual cycle patterns and body dimensions in Austrian women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Sylvia Kirchengast
Sylvia Kirchengast
Affiliation:
Institute for Human Biology, University of Vienna, Austria
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Summary

The relationships between 29 cephalic and post-cephalic body dimensions and the length and regularity of the menstrual cycle, as well as the duration of menstrual bleeding, have been investigated in 327 Austrian women. Five of the eight head measurements and seventeen of the 21 body measurements correlated statistically significantly with the individual menstrual variables. Measures of facial and post-cephalic robustness and the amount of subcutaneous fat tissue correlated negatively with the length of cycle, as well as with the difference between minimum and maximum cycle length, a measure of the cycle regularity. The post-cephalic height and length dimensions correlated significantly positively with bleeding duration. The results indicated a marked influence of body type, especially the amount of subcutaneous fat, on the length and regularity of the menstrual cycle.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , April 1994 , pp. 207 - 216
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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