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Season of birth and recalled age at menarche

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Jesper L. Boldsen
Jesper L. Boldsen
Affiliation:
Institute of Community Health, University of Odense, Denmark
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Summary

All 8th-form schoolgirls from the municipality of Odense in Denmark were asked at what age they reached menarche, and 886 girls (97·6%) gave this information. There is no evidence for seasonality in the time of birth but for far more girls than expected menarche occurred during winter or summer and fewer than expected during spring and autumn. This pattern appears primarily in girls living in the suburbs and was not seen in those living in central Odense. The seasonality appears to be brought about by differences in mean age at menarche according to time of the year at birth.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , April 1992 , pp. 167 - 174
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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