Menarcheal Age and Menstruation Peculiarities of Vilnius City Girls (A Pilot Study Based on 2010 Data)

Background. Sexual maturation - is a very important and sensitive for the changes of external factors biological marker that reflects tempo of organism growth and development. Menarche, or the appearance of first menstruation, is the main feature of sexual maturation in girls that mostly objective reflects inter­nal body changes and hormonal situa­tion, and could be observed exiernally. The last investigation on menarcheal age in Vilnius and the other towns and regions was performed in 1998-2002.

The aim of this study was to investi­gate menarcheal age of girls from Vilnius city, to define it’s relation with body mass index (BMI), to analyze the peculiarities of menstruation and symptoms of premen­strual syndrome (PMS) in adolescent girls.

Material and methods. In total 609 girls aged 10-19 were investigated in 8 schools of Vilnius city in 2010. All girls filled in the questionnaire about pecu­liarities of menstrual cycle and PMS symptoms; body measurements (weight, height, chest, waist and hip ciriumieri ences) were registered as well. Menar- cheal age was determined by Status quo method (Probit analysis was applied), the retrospective method was used as well. The foli owing items were anaiyzed: the regularity and duration of menstrua­tions, the duration of menstrual cycle, the subjective symptoms during men­struation and PMS symptoms.

Results and conclusions. During the 1998-2010 period menarcheal age had decreased from 13.20 years to 13.13 years. Menstruation cycles were more regular in older than in younger ad­olescent girls. About 57-80% of girls from different age groups had different com­plaints during menstruation (the older adolescent girls had more menstrual problems). Approximately one third of teenage girls were affected by different PMS symptoms. The older adolescent girls more often suffered from PMS symptoms than younger teenagers. The most frequent PMS symptoms were mood changes, irritability, jitters and changes in appetite. The most frequently indicated du­ration of menstruation in 12-19 years old girls was 5-6 days, and the most frequently noted duration of menstrual cycle - 25-31 days. The disorders in duration of menstrual cycle were more common at the beginning of adolescence period. Menarcheal age was younger in girls with big BMI. Hence, the early menarche could be the marker for obesity risk, and the de­creasing menarcheal age of growing pop­ulation could predict negative health is­sues at the adulthood.

Keywords: menarche, menstruation symptoms, premenstrual symptoms, ado­lescent girls, body mass index.