• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.153-158
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• 1976

It is clearly defined through a number of authoritative studies that the age of menarche influenced by the various combined factocs such as nutrition status, physical status, physical growth and development status, socio-economic status, locality, culture, education level, climate, race heredity etc. In order to obtain statistical data regarding the menarche of Korean school girls, anthers investigated on 4207 middle school girls and 703 woman college students in Seoul and Teagu during the period of September 10 to 30, 1973 and the result are summarized as followings; 1. The rates of menses experience by years were 18.2% in the age group of 12 years girls, 31.9% in 13 years, 64.6% in 14 years, 89.8% in 15 years, 98.1% in 16 years respectvely. 2. The average age of menarche for the 2504 school girls who were born during the yrar of 1957-1961 is 13.4 years with the rang of 9 years to 16 years. And the most frequent age of menarche is 13 years. 3. The average age of menarche for the 703 woman college students who were born during the year of 1950-1954 is 14.3 years with the rang of 9 years to 18 years. And the most frequent age if menarche is 13 years. 4. The appearence of menarche is most common in August (20.7%) for the group who were born during the year of 1957-1961 and most rear in November (4.2%). And it is also most common in August (19.9%) for the group who were born puring the year of 1950-1954 but most rear in June (3.4%).

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.256-259
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• 1998

The association of menarche and nutritional status was studied in 116 female students of the 6 th grade in a rural primary school. Participants were divided into two groups based on menarcheal status. The anthropometric data showed that mean heights and weights of menarcheal group on two occasions were significantly higher than those of the other group (p<0.01). Neither hemoglobin levels nor hematocrit values for determination of anemia were not associated with menarche. Twenty four hour dietary recall revealed that young females with menarche consumed less energy and Ca compared to the other group. Ca intake was 34.8% of RDA in menarcheal group. It might be suggested that effective intervention strategies need to be developed and include education programs for nutritional needs and food sources of Ca, targeting rural residents.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.9
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• pp.355-361
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• 2016

The menarcheal age of Korean women has been rapidly decreasing for the last 50 years, and the average menarcheal age of women born in the 1990s is approaching 12.6 years. In addition, interest in early puberty has been increasing recently owing to the rapid increase in precocious puberty. Generally, out of concern for short stature and early menarche, idiopathic central precocious puberty in female adolescents is treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs. Studies to date have described the association between early menarche and psychosocial problems such as delinquency and risky sexual behavior, as well as physical health problems such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and breast cancer throughout the lifespan of women. However, the pathophysiological mechanism underlying this association has not been clarified thus far. In this article, we review and discuss the existing literature to describe the current understanding of the effects of early menarche on the physical and psychosocial health of adolescent girls and adult women.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.98-106
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• 2020

Purpose: This study utilized data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) to explore differences in the timing of menarche in Korean girls according to blood heavy metal concentrations. Methods: This study performed a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the sixth KNHANES. Data from 179 female children and adolescents aged 10~18 were included in this study. The relationships of blood heavy metal concentrations (lead, mercury, and cadmium) with age of menarche were analyzed using complex sample multiple logistic regression. Results: In the participants of this study, the geometric mean values of blood lead, mercury, and cadmium concentrations were 1.15±0.04 ㎍/dL, 1.80±0.08 ㎍/L, and 0.30±0.03 ㎍/L, respectively. Mercury poisoning (>5 ㎍/L) was found in 1.5% of participants. Furthermore, significant relationships were found between blood lead and mercury concentrations and age at menarche (p for trend: p<.001 and p=.015, respectively). Conclusion: Through an analysis of national big data, this study found evidence that Korean girls showed a younger age at menarche in response to higher blood lead and mercury concentrations. To prevent and manage precocious puberty in Korean children and adolescents, a systematic policy that monitors both exposure to environmental hazards and blood heavy metal concentrations is needed.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.139-148
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• 2009

The present study was conducted for analyzing changes in physique of at menarche of athletic and non-athletes. The maximum growth age of height and weight during menarche was not different between non-athletes and the athletes. Second, among non-athletes, those who had menarche late were taller and heavier than those who did early, and among the athletes, those who had menarche late were taller but lighter. The development rate of height was higher and the development duration was longer in the athletes than in the non-athletes. The development rate of weight was similar between the non-athletes and the athletes, but the maximum rate was higher in the athletes.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.5737-5744
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• 2013

This study was performed to identify the association between the menarche experience and mental health in middle school girls aged 14. The subjects were selected using data from the 8th Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS-V), which included 5,991 girls in 1st grade of middle school. Data were analyzed using the PASW 18.0 program for frequency analysis, t-test, chi square and logistic regression analysis. As to results, we found 4,473 girls who had experienced menarche (mean age, 12.8 0.9 years) and 1,518 girls hadn't experienced menarche. In the logistic regression analysis between the menarche experience and mental health behaviors, the odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] for perceived stress (OR=1.39, 1.20-1.62, p<0.001), perceived depression (OR=1.25, 1.10-1.42, p<0.05), suicide thinking (6OR=1.60, 1.38-1.87, <0.001), suicide planning (OR=1.66, 1.33-2.81, p<0.001) and suicide trial (OR=1.42, 1.09-1.86, p<0.05) were higher in the menarche experience group than in the menarche non-experience group. Our results indicate, a viable association between the menarche experience and mental health in the 1st grade of middle school girls, and suggests that the menarche experience is an important factor influencing adolescent girls' mental health.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.196-204
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• 2005

Menarche is a main indicator of sexual maturity which relates to a reproductive function. The onset of the menstrual cycle differs individually and is influenced by many variables such as socio-economic situation, race, genetics, climate, altitude, nutritional status, and physical growth. Among them physical growth has been known to be the most influencing factor, particularly when expressed as body fat designated by weight. This study intended to investigate the body composition of girls around the menarche period and to evaluate the minimal levels of weight and fat percentage needed for the onset of menarche. A total of 101 female subjects, aged 11 to 13 years, were recruited from the 5th and 6th grades of an elementary school, in Mokpo, Korea. The subjects were placed into one of two groups Pre-menarche and Post-menarche groups according to their experience with menarche. Thereafter, the subjects in the Post-group were placed into 4 subgroups based on the number of menstruations they experienced: Post-I (1-3 times), Post-II (4-6 times), Post-III (7-9 times), and Post-IV (> 10 times). The average age at the onset of menarche of the subjects in Post groups was $11.2 \pm 0.6$ years. There were significant differences in the data of anthropometry and body composition between the Pre and Post groups, although the mean ages of both Pre and Post groups were the same. Weight, waist, hip and thigh girths, fat percentage, and lean body mass of the Post groups were significantly higher than those of the Pre group. Height was not significantly different between the groups. Weight was highly correlated with body fat mass (r = 0.92. p < 0.001), fat percentage (r = 0.85, p < 0.001), and body mass index (r = 0.91, p < 0.001) These results indicate that weight, compared with height, reflects body composition well and influences the onset of the menstrual cycle. It could also be suggested that the minimal weight and fat percentage needed for the onset of menarche in Korean females are 41 kg and $17\%\;to\;19\%$, respectively.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2012

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the mean age of menarche, its secular trend in Korean women, and the relationship between malocclusion and the rate of skeletal maturation, as defined by menarcheal age. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on menarcheal age from 931 Korean women born during 1961 - 1997. Subjects were divided by the malocclusion type and birth-year decade into 3 and 4 groups, respectively. The mean menarcheal age for each group was determined, and one-way ANOVA was performed for intergroup comparison (p = 0.05). Two-way ANOVA was also performed to compare all the 12 subgroups (p = 0.05). Results: The mean age of menarche was 12.82 years for Korean women born during 1961 - 1997. A distinct downward secular trend of menarcheal age was noticed (p < 0.05). For the birth-year decade 1961 - 1970, the Class III malocclusion group showed earlier onset of menarche than the other malocclusion groups (p < 0.05), but the other birth-year groups did not show any significant difference in the type of malocclusion (p > 0.05). Conclusions: A positive secular trend towards earlier menarche exists among Korean women. Malocclusion does not show any significant relationship with the rate of skeletal maturation, as defined by menarcheal age.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to compare the growth development between age-matched 51 postmenarcheal girls (mean age 153.1$\pm$5.8 month) who were rapidly maturing and 51 premenarcheal girls (mean age 153.1$\pm$5.7 month) who were slowly maturing. Anthropometirc measurements were taken for height, body weight, body fat(%), waist and hip circumferences of subjects. These measurements of menarcheal girls were significantly higher than those of nonmenarcheal girls. There was no significant difference in BMI distribution between two groups. However, 43.2% and 20.0% respectively in the menarcheal and nonmenarcheal girls had body fat levels of 30% or above. There were significant differences in the anthropometric measurements during past 4 years from 3rd grade elementary school to present. The greatest difference between the two groups were the amount and the rate of increased height and body weight from age 9 to 10. Among menarcheal girls, height, body weight, BMI, and Röhrer index were positively related to the onset of menarche. Distinctively, there was a stronger relationship between age at menarche and anthropometric measurements when the girls were 5th grade elementary school children. These findings support that during childhood and puberty, obese girls grow faster and have earlier menarche. Furthermore, the importance of prevention of obesity was recognized in order to accelerate growth of height among the girls by delaying the age of menarche.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.646-652
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• 2003

This study was performed to determine the iron status of the adolescent Korean girls before and after menarche. The 101 subjects aged 11-13 years who attending in an elementary school in Mokpo were recruited. They were divided into pre-menarche (A) group or post-menarche (B) group based on their menstruation status. The latter subjects were sub-divided into one of the four groups according to the times of their menstruation B-I( $\geq$ 3 times), B-II (4-6 times), B-III (7-9 times) or B-W ( $\geq$ 10 times). In the total subjects, dietary iron intake, 11.3 mg/day, was below the Korean RDA for iron, the percentage of heme iron to total iron intake, 15%, and the bioavailability of dietary iron, 12.3%, seemed to be low. And their body iron storage, 140.8 mg, seemed to be insufficient. However, they tended to meet body's iron requirement in the cell level. Red blood cell number (RBC), hematocrit (Hct), and hemoglobin (Hb) level in the total subjects were 4.5 1012/I, 39.3%, and 13.0 g/㎗, respectively. The subjects in B group had lower (p<0.05) RBC and Hct compared to those in A group and the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia tended to be high. Serum iron, ferritin, and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and sTfR:ferritin ratio were 86.7 $\mu\textrm{g}$/d, 17.6 $\mu\textrm{g}$/l, 3.58 mg/1, and 230, respectively. Those four indices were not significantly different among the groups. The results of this study imply that, although there a tendency to affect negatively iron status, menstrual blood loss in adolescent females does not deteriorate obviously their iron status during the relatively short period up to 1 you. However, it should be better to improve their iron status after starting menarche by increasing iron intake, especially heme-iron, and enhancing factors for iron absorption.