• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.64 no.2
• /
• pp.86-92
• /
• 2021

Background: Anemia is an important health problem affecting approximately 25% of the global population. Although its prevalence is decreasing worldwide, few studies have examined the prevalence of anemia in Korean adolescents. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anemia in Korean adolescents over the past 21 years using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of anemia in adolescents aged 10-18 years for the period 1998-2018 according to sex, age, residential area, and household income. The effects of menarche age and menstruation were examined in female adolescents for the period 2001-2018. Results: Among the total 11,782 participants, the weighted prevalence of anemia was 4.0%. The prevalence of anemia in male participants significantly decreased (from 3.0% to 0.5%, P<0.001), whereas that in female participants did not change significantly over time (from 7.9% to 8.5%, P=0.054). The average age at menarche was 12.4±0.0 years; the prevalence of anemia in females increased from age 13 years onward. Multivariate analysis revealed that anemia was more common in female than male participants (odds ratio [OR], 9.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.19-13.57; P<0.001). In female adolescents, the prevalence of anemia increased with age (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.15-1.38, P<0.001) and was 3.6 times higher after than before menarche (OR, 3.65; 95% CI, 2.21-6.05, P<0.001). Conclusion: Over the 21-year study period, the prevalence of anemia decreased among male adolescents but did not change in female adolescents. In female adolescents, age and menarche were identified as significant risk factors that require continued attention.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.159-167
• /
• 2009

Objective: This study investigated the onset, peak height velocity (PHV) and end of adolescent growth spurt as well as menarcheal timing deduced from surveying accumulative height growth over many years. Methods: Ninety six students of Samgoe high school between 1st and 3rd grade that were in good health participated in the research. A survey questionnaire was distributed to examine the students' health status and menarche timing. Results: Adolescent growth spurt typically began at the age of 9.9 and reached a PHV at the age of 11.6. The growth spurt ended at the age of 14.1 on average. The average age of menarche was 12.6 years, which was about one year after the PHV of adolescent growth spurt. In most cases, menarche came after PHV. But in 24% of the students, menarche and PHV was nearly coincident or menarche preceded PHV. The growth curves were classified into four types. A typical adolescent growth spurt showed one PHV on graph that drastically drops after the PHV. However, there were cases with two PHVs. Conclusions: The results indicate that individual growth patterns show large individual differences, however the categorization into the various growth curves may aid in predicting individual growth patterns.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.7-16
• /
• 1998

Various difficulties and inconveniences arise from having a mentally handicapped child in a family and these place many demands on mothers. There are few studies in Korea on these demands nor on what mothers go through with their mentally handicapped daughters' menarche and puberty. The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of mothers of mentally handicapped daughters, as it relates to their daughters' menarche and the beginning of puberty. With indepth interviews, both in person and by telephone and participant observation the study used a qualitative research methodology to attempt to understand the experiences of these mothers. The data were gathered from October 1995 to April 1996. The subjects for the research included nine mothers of mentally handicapped daughters whose ages ranged from 12 to 18 and who attended one of three special schools located in either Inchon or Seoul. The data were recorded and analyzed : meaningful statements were grouped according to subjects raised by the mothers. Content Analysis was also applied to identify similar content and confirm common experiences. and to highlight concepts and categorized them. The results of this study are as follows. Five categories were identified : mothers' emotional responses to their mentally handicapped daughters' menarche and menstration were of severe despair accompanied by anxiety, guilt, fear, anguish, shame and pity because the mothers were afraid their daughters would not be able to use appropriate hygienic measures during menstration and the mothers felt heavily burdened in having to look them. The mothers also had negative feelings about their daughters' physical development. The experience of mothers related to their daughters' possibilities for marriage and pregnancy were of powerlessness, distress, withdrawal, fear. pity and desperation and they were afraid that their daughters might be violated sexually. The mothers rejected the possibility of marriage and pregnancy for their daughters and instead planned very restricting futures for them. The mothers used various coping methods to bring meaning to their lives. Because the negative emotional responses of the mothers. nurses need to work to empower mothers to overcome these negative responses. Sex education can also play an important role especially for the daughters especially through the use of visual aids. Further, nurses should understand the tearing difficulties of mentally handicapped daughters, what mothers need and also what they experience with their mentally handicapped daughters. In conclusion, nurses should understand the negative experiences of the mothers in relation to their mentally handicapped daughters' menarche, help the mothers cope with the negative. emotions through real life education and counselling. In addition, there is a need for nursing interventions and an administrative system which will minimize the prejudices of society towards handicapped people.

• The Korean Nurse
• /
• v.12 no.6 s.68
• /
• pp.85-87
• /
• 1973

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.28-35
• /
• 1989

The purpose of this study is to identify the status of menstruation of elementary schoolgirls. The date was collected from 20th May to 3rd June, 1989. The survey was conducted by using prepared questionair and 859 6th grade schoolgirls in 7 public elementary schools in Seoul were sampled for this study. The results of study are summerized as follows. 1. 13.9 percent of the school girls have experienced menarche. 0.7 percent of them began in 4th grade, 5.8 percent began in 5th grade and 7.0 percent of them began In 6th grade. 2. Among them 90.8 percent had knowledge of menstruation before menarche.43.7 percent of the respondents learned it through their mothers and 27.8 percent learned it through teachers. 3. About the menstruation, the girls who think it as a physiological phenomena as a woman showed 52.9 percent and 14.3 percent of them thought it was trouble some but, being a woman, regarded it as a inevitable thing. The repondents who think menstruation is tiresome and want not to have it were 31.9 percent. 4. At menarche 20.2 percent of the girls managed it by themselves, 72 percent disposed of it by asking someone and 2.5 percent of them managed it by their family members when the sign was detected. 5. During the menstruation 72.3 percent of the samples had some symptom and the most common symptom was abdominal pain(84.9 percent). 6. In menarche only 16.8 percent of the girls had positive response. 7. In their present menstruation 35.3 percent of them had positive response on it.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.563-568
• /
• 2016

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women worldwide and its frequency is increasing gradually in many countries. Over the last three decades an increase in the breast cancer has been witnessed in the earlier low-risk Asian countries including Pakistan. Purpose: The objective of the current study was to assess the prevalence of known risk factors like early menarche, late menopause, socio economic, reproductive and demographic factors, among women diagnosed with breast cancer at INMOL hospital, Lahore, Punjab, as little information exists in this regard. Materials and Methods: A survey study was conducted on 200 women diagnosed with breast cancer who were seen at Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Oncology (INMOL) hospital, Lahore. A structured questionnaire was administered to these patients regarding the known risk factors through face to face interviews after obtaining appropriate consent. Results: Regarding non-modifiable risk factors, our study showed that majority of the breast cancer patients were diagnosed at 35-45 years (32.5%) or at older age (${\leq}46$) and experienced menarche at 12 years or older (66 %). Likewise, a large number of patients reached menopause at the age of 45 years (60%), had no family and personal history of breast cancer (80%) and hence fell in a low risk category. Regarding modifiable risk factors in women diagnosed with breast cancer, most of the patients fell in low risk strata as the majority were married (98%) at young age, breastfed their children for 12 months or more (88%) and bore two to three children (80%). Considering income criteria, the majority of the patients had a low risk profile as they belonged to middle class (70%), urban area (60%) and were house wives (80%). However, it was noted that a considerable number of women (34%) diagnosed with breast cancer experienced menarche at an early age (<12) and reached menopause after the age of 45 years. This situation is further augmented by environmental changes and dietary habits and places them in a high risk category.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.49 no.6
• /
• pp.610-616
• /
• 2006

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the timing of sexual maturation and secular trends of menarchial age in Korean adolescents. Methods : Nine hundred eighty two school students and 119 university female students were included. Tanner's pubertal assessment method was applied using a self-assessment sheet with pictures for their developmental stages. A medical checkup database from 1,156,022 women was also used to analyze the age of menarche from the year 1900 to 1980. Results : Onset of puberty was at $11.3{\pm}1.3$ years(y) in girls and $12.1{\pm}1.5$ y in boys and total pubertal duration was 3.6 y in girls and 3.3 y in boys. Height at the onset of puberty was $146.1{\pm}7.9cm$ in girls and $152.7{\pm}9.8cm$ in boys. Weight at the onset of puberty was $39.3{\pm}6.9kg$ in girls and $47.7{\pm}14.4kg$ in boys. The mean age of menarche was $12.0{\pm}1.0y$ and mean age at nocturnal emission was $12.3{\pm}1.8y$. By age ten, 3.0 percent of girls experienced menarche, which increased to 41.1 percent by age 12, and 98.0 percent by age over 15. By SMR 2 breast stage, 18.2 percent of girls experienced menarche, which increased to 66.1 percent and 91.7 percent by SMR stages 3 and 4, respectively. By SMR 2 pubic hair stage, 52.0 percent and by SMR 3, 93.8 percent of girls experienced menarche. While the menarchial age of women born around 1980 was $12.4{\pm}1.1y$, the menarchial age of women born around 1990 was $12.0{\pm}1.1y$. Age at menarche has been advanced approximately by 2 years between 1900 and 1980 birth cohorts. Conclusion : There was a downward secular trend in pubertal timing. Age at menarche has been advanced by 2 years during the last 80 years. Further large scale, prospective studies, including inspection by specialists, are needed to provide reference data for pubertal timing in Korean adolescents.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.28 no.4 s.69
• /
• pp.581-589
• /
• 1998

In order to correct a maxillofacial-skeletal disharmony successfully and achieve a favorable facial profile, orthodontic treatment must begin at pubertal growth spurt. Therefore predicting the pubertal growth pattern and evaluating the growth potential is very important. For an orthodontist, estimating skeletal maturity in relation to one's personal growth spurt is essential and it must be considered into the treatment. The objective of this study was to find out whether there was a difference in menacheal age among different malocclusion groups and to evaluate the skeletal maturity at menarche. The subjects were 64 Class I malocclusion patients, 51 Class II patients and 38 Class III patients. Skeletal maturity was estimated from handwrist radiographs of these patients. Handwrist radiographs were taken between 3 months before and after the menarche. The results were as follows. 1. The mean chronologic age of menarche was $12.50{\pm}1.01$ years. 2. For the Class I malocclusion group the mean age of menarche was $12.36{\pm}1.04$ years, for Class II $12.81{\pm}1.03$ years and for Class III $12.32{\pm}0.82$ years. According to these results Class II malocclusion patients started mensturation later than Class I and Class III malocclusion patients. 3. No difference was found considering the skeletal maturity at menarche among the malocclusion groups. 4. The skeletal maturity index at menarche was SMI 7 for $45.10\%$, SMI 8 for $27.25\%$, SMI 9 for $10.46\%$, SMI 6 for $7.84\%$, SMI 10 for $7.84\%$ and SMI 5 for $1.31\%$ patients. 5. Statistically there was a significant correlation between skeletal maturity estimated by handwrist radiographs and menacheal age(p<0.05, r=0.25430).

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.22 no.3 s.38
• /
• pp.603-615
• /
• 1992

This study was undertaken to investigate the interrelationship between the growth change of mandible and the developmental age of growing girls in the longitudinal data from 7 years to 15 years. The data were obtained from maturation stage of cervical vertebrae through the serial lateral cephalogram, height increment records which was taken at one year interval, menarche date through interview. On the basis of findings of this study, the following conclusions were obtained. 1. In general the growth of mandible (Ar-Pog, Ar-Go, Go-Pog) showed two peaks of growth velocity. 2. The maximum growth of mandible (Ar-Pog, Ar-Go, Go-Pog) almost appeared between stage 3 and stage 4 in maturation of cervical vertebrae. 3. It showed the tendency that the maximum increment of height appeared faster than that of mandible (Ar-Pog, Ar-Go, Pog-Go). 4. The maximum growth of height almost appeared between stage 2 and stage 3 in maturation of cervical vertebrae. 5. It showed the tendency that the menarche appeared later than the maximum growth of mandible (Ar-Pog, Ar-Go, Pog-Go). 6. The menarche almost appeared at stage 4, stage 5 in maturation of cervical vertebrae.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.7-15
• /
• 1976

The author have studied the relationship between the maximum puberal growth stage in body height and the appearance of the adductor sesamoid of the thumb with wrist x-ray films. In addition to this, it has been investigated the age at which pubic hair appeared in boys, and the age at menarche in girls. The results were as follows: 1) The ossification of the adductor sesamoid of the thumb occured at 13-years-o-month in boys and 10-years-8-months in girls. 2) There was a close association between the age at maximum puberal growth in body height and the age when ossification of the adductor sesamoid of the thumb occured, and also in girls, the age at the menarche. 3) Appearance of the adductor sesamoid of the thumb indicated that maximum puberal growth in body height is imminent or has been reached. 4) The maximum puberal growth in body height occured 23 months earlier in girls than in boys, and ossification of the adductor sesamoid of the thumb 28 months earlier in girls. 5) Appearance of the pubic hair in boys was of no value for prediction of maximum puberal growth in body height. 6) Menarche is a reliable indication that the maximum puberal growth in body height has been reached or passed.