The influence of age at menarche on the prevalence of disorders of the menstrual cycle among healthy university students.

Introduction: Many research findings indicate long-term health risks of early age at menarche. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of early and late onset of menarche on menstrual disturbances and anthropometric measures among university students.

Material and methods: The research was carried out among 566 students of the Jagiellonian University. Measurements of the height, weight and waist circumference were taken for each person. The age at the first menstruation was assessed by a retrospective method based on information given by the students. Data related to the pattern of the menstrual cycle were gathered by a survey.

Results: The group featured an average age at menarche of 12.71, ranging between 10 and 17 years. The post--menarchal year was at least 5. According to percentiles, the females were divided into three groups of different puberty rate. Significant differences were observed in the pattern of menstrual cycles with relation to age at menarche. Among the early- and late-maturing group irregular cycles were more frequent than among those who reached puberty at the average age. The longest cycles and most frequent oligomenorrhoea were observed in the late-maturing group. There were no differences observed regarding the number of days with menstrual bleeding, although the early-maturing women more frequently declared that bleeding was profuse. Within the group of early-maturing students a significantly larger number declared to have suffered menstrual pain than in the other groups. More early-maturing students also complained of back pain and headaches during the menstrual cycle.

Conclusion: Both early and late menarche might be related to menstrual dysfunction among young women. Menstrual disturbances were more prevalent among women who experienced menarche at a younger age. Moreover, in the early-maturing group overweight and obese states, as well as abdominal obesity, were frequent, and they are known as risk factors in many illnesses.