Importância do viés de memória na obtenção da idade da menarca pelo método recordatório em adolescentes brasileiras

Abstract

RESUMOObjetivo: Comparar a idade da menarca obtida pelo método recordatório conforme o tempo decorrido desde o evento para verificar a importância do viés de memória. Sujeitos e métodos: Foram avaliadas 1.671 meninas (7-18 anos) em escolas de Campinas-SP quanto à ocorrência da menarca, pelos métodos status quo (menarca: sim ou não) e recordatório, (data da menarca, para as que a referiram). A idade da ocorrência do evento obtida pelo status quo foi calculada pelo logito, que considera todo o grupo, e a obtida pelo recordatório, pela média da idade da menarca referida. Nesse grupo a idade da menarca foi obtida pela diferença entre a data do evento referida e a data de nascimento. As meninas que referiram menarca (883; 52,8%) foram divididas em quatro grupos de acordo com o tempo decorrido desde o evento. Para as análises foram utilizadas a ANOVA e a regressão logística, com significância de 0,05. Resultados: A idade da menarca, calculada pelo logito, foi de 12,14 anos (IC95% 12,[8][9][10][11][12]20). As médias das idades referidas pelo mé-todo recordatório foram: para as que menstruaram há 1 ano ou menos 12,26 anos (±1,14), entre > 1 e 2 anos 12,29 anos (±1,22), entre > 2 e 3 anos 12,23 anos (±1,27) e mais de 3 anos 11,55 anos (±1,24), p < 0,001. Conclusão: A idade da menarca obtida pelo método recordatório foi semelhante para as meninas que menstruaram há 3 anos ou menos (e se aproximou da idade calculada pelo logito); acima de 3 anos o viés de memória foi significante. Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab. 2014;58(4):394-7 Descritores Menarca; adolescente; viés ABSTRACT Objective: To compare the age at menarche obtained by recall method according to the time elapsed since the event, in order to verify the importance of the recall bias. Subjects and methods: Were evaluated 1,671 girls (7-18 years) at schools in Campinas-SP regarding the occurrence of menarche by the status quo method (menarche: yes or no) and the recall method (date of menarche, for those who mentioned it). The age at menarche obtained by the status quo method was calculated by logit, which considers the whole group, and the age obtained by the recall method was calculated as the average of the mentioned age at menarche. In this group, the age at menarche was obtained by the difference between the date of the event and the date of birth. Girls who reported menarche (883, 52.8%) were divided into four groups according to the time elapsed since the event. To analyze the results, we used ANOVA and logistic regression for the analysis, with a significance level of 0.05. Results: The age at menarche calculated by logit was 12.14 y/o (95% CI 12.08 to 12.20). Mean ages obtained by recall were: for those who experienced menarche within the previous year 12.26 y/o (±1.14), between > 1-2 years before, 12.29 y (±1.22); between > 2-3 years before, 12.23 y/o (±1.27); and more than 3 years before, 11.55y/o (±1.24), p < 0.001. Conclusion: The age at menarche obtained by the recall method was similar for girls who menstruated within the previous 3 years (and approaches th...

Early Menarche is a Risk Factor for Short Stature in Young Korean Females: An Epidemiologic Study

“…Finally, the age at menarche was self-reported. It is known that age at menarche based on recall data is not very accurate, especially when the time between menarche and current age is more than three years (37). However, other studies have shown high correlations (R=0.67 to 0.79) between age at menarche by recall during middle-age and the original childhood data (38).…”

Menarche, pregnancies, and breastfeeding do not modify long-term prognosis in multiple sclerosis

“…Women may remember the year but not the exact date of the menarche; however, previous studies demonstrated good reliability of the approximated age at menarche. 17 This should be taken into account since the previous studies reported significant differences based on a very small difference (months) of onset of menarche between the groups. 9 It is therefore difficult to establish a causal relationship between that small difference in age at menarche reported in previous studies and the risk of such a complex disease as MS. To overcome this limitation in the future, we have started to collect this information prospectively.…”

Rural–urban variations in age at menarche, adult height, leg-length and abdominal adiposity in black South African women in transitioning South Africa

“…The risk of recall bias may be greater in urban young adult women as they are two years older than their rural counterparts. However, this method is commonly used to obtain the age at menarche and it has been shown that adult women are reliable when they report their age at menarche (Castilho et al., 2014 ). Secondly, we could not adjust our analysis for birthweight or childhood adiposity.…”