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. 2013 Apr 8;8(4):e60056.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060056. Print 2013.

Trends in menarcheal age between 1955 and 2009 in the Netherlands

Henk Talma  1 , Yvonne Schönbeck, Paula van Dommelen, Boudewijn Bakker, Stef van Buuren, Remy A Hirasing
Affiliations

Trends in menarcheal age between 1955 and 2009 in the Netherlands

Henk Talma et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Aim: To assess and compare the secular trend in age at menarche in Dutch girls (1955-2009) and girls from Turkish and Moroccan descent living in the Netherlands (1997-2009).

Methods: Data on growth and maturation were collected in 20,867 children of Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan descent in 2009 by trained health care professionals. Girls, 9 years and older, of Dutch (n = 2138), Turkish (n = 282), and Moroccan (n = 295) descent were asked whether they had experienced their first period. We compared median menarcheal age in 2009 with data from the previous Dutch Nationwide Growth Studies in 1955, 1965, 1980 and 1997. Age specific body mass index (BMI) z-scores were calculated to assess differences in BMI between pre- and postmenarcheal girls in different age groups.

Results: Median age at menarche in Dutch girls, decreased significantly from 13.66 years in 1955 to 13.15 years in 1997 and 13.05 years in 2009. Compared to Dutch girls there is a larger decrease in median age of menarche in girls of Turkish and Moroccan descent between 1997 and 2009. In Turkish girls age at menarche decreased from 12.80 to 12.50 years and in Moroccan girls from 12.90 to 12.60 years. Thirty-three percent of Turkish girls younger than 12 years start menstruating in primary school. BMI-SDS is significantly higher in postmenarcheal girls than in premenarcheal girls irrespective of age.

Conclusion: There is a continuing secular trend in earlier age at menarche in Dutch girls. An even faster decrease in age at menarche is observed in girls of Turkish and Moroccan descent in the Netherlands.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Trends in proportion of menarche in Dutch girls between 1965 and 2009.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Trends in proportion of menarche in girls from Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan origin between 1997 and 2009.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Mean BMI SDS for Dutch premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls by age in the growth studies in 1980, 1997 and 2009.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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