Age at menarche from a Biscayan coastal population (Basque Country)

Abstract

Data on menarcheal age were collected by the status quo method on a sample of 894 schoolgirls (9-19 years of age), from the Biscay province coast (Basque Country, Spain). Logit analysis provided a mean age at menarche of 12.75 +/- 0.04 years with a standard deviation of 0.93. The result was compared with data from another previous Basque study.

Recent data about age at menarche in the biscay province (Basque Country, Spain)

“…Regarding to former studies done in Biscay province, the mean age obtained in Margen Izquierda was lower to the values obtained in a semi-urban sample from the Biscay coast (Rebato et al, 1993(Rebato et al, , 1994 and in an urban sample from Villa de Bilbao (Gonz~lez and Rebato, 1995) (Table III): 12.75 and 12.73 years, respectively. The three studies used the same methodology of data collection and analysis, and the same notation for decimal age.…”

“…There were only affirmative answers from 10.5 years in Villa de Bilbao sample (4.4% percentagemenstruating observed) and from 11.5 years in the sample from the Coast (8% percentage menstruating observed). We have to keep in mind, however, that Coast population (Rebato et al, 1993(Rebato et al, , 1994 comes from a semi-rural area, so "urbanisation" factor could have influenced the observed differences. Rebato, 1988Rebato et al, 1993, 1994Gonz~ez and Rebato, 1995 Present stud)r…”

“…We have to keep in mind, however, that Coast population (Rebato et al, 1993(Rebato et al, , 1994 comes from a semi-rural area, so "urbanisation" factor could have influenced the observed differences. Rebato, 1988Rebato et al, 1993, 1994Gonz~ez and Rebato, 1995 Present stud)r…”

“…Therefore, we have to analyse the second possibility, particularly some answer error and also the fact that at very early ages (9.5 years) there are affirmative answers, This fact could have affected the fit. However significant values of the X 2 test for goodness of fit have also been obtained in other populations fitted by probit (Grassivaro Gallo, 1977;Sharma, 1990) or logit (Rebato et al, 1993).…”

“…From the end of the eighties, in the Basque Country and more precisely in the Biscay province, several bioanthropological studies on the onset of menstruation in girls have been performed, with the aim of analysing intra-and inter-population variability of this physiological trait and its secular trend (Rebato, 1987(Rebato, , 1988Rebato et al, 1993Rebato et al, , 1994Gonz~ilez and Rebato, 1995). The aim of the present work is to give a recent view on menarcheal age in an urban sample of Biscay population (Basque Country) and to connect the menarcheal age with the age at Peak Height Velocity (PHV) in this sample population.…”