Nutritional status and age at secondary sterility in rural Bangladesh

Abstract

In a prospective study of 2324 women in Matlab, Bangladesh, the occurrence of primary and secondary sterility by age groups was examined. The results were related to the nutritional status of the women, as assessed by measurements of height, weight, arm circumference and ponderal index. There is evidence that nutritional status is an important factor in estimated age at sterility, with thinner women experiencing a slightly earlier menopause.

Life course effects on age at menopause among Bangladeshi sedentees and migrants to the UK

“…Within each study group, median ages at menopause were later than mean recalled ages at menopause as expected due to methodological differences (Sievert and Hautaniemi 2003). Average ages at menopause are earlier among these upper middle class women in Sylhet compared to women recruited from Matlab, Bangladesh (Karim et al 1985).…”

“…In contrast, there are few studies available for age at menopause from women in Bangladesh, the country of focus here. In an earlier study, Karim et al (1985) reported one of the lowest median ages at menopause in the literature at 43.6 years in Bangladesh. These data, however, come from Matlab Thana, a poor socioeconomic area near the capital city of Dhaka, in stark contrast to the affluent middle class women from Sylhet in northeast Bangladesh who are the focus of study in this paper.…”

“…Epidemics of cholera, influenza and typhoid were documented in the aftermath of floods in Sylhet in October 1964 (UPI, 1964); and deaths and housing losses followed floods in Sylhet in 1972(AP, 1972. Resulting food shortages and acute diseases very likely impacted children, particularly girls (Choudhury and Bhuiya 1993;Karim et al 1985).…”

“…Finally, one of the earliest population median ages at menopause (43.6 years) comes from Bangladesh (Karim et al 1985, Table 1) compared to a median age of almost 53 years in the UK (Hardy and Kuh 2005).…”

“…Mass destruction from severe cyclones has been of such magnitude in the past that Bangladesh has been unable to recover quickly without aid from other countries. In times of food shortages, women and children --even among more affluent households --are most affected as males in the household have priority over the food supply (Karim et al, 1985).…”