Dataset Information

Secular trends in age at menarche among Chinese girls from 24 ethnic minorities, 1985 to 2010.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Declining age at menarche has been observed in many countries. In China, a decrease of 4.5 months per decade in the average age at menarche among the majority Han girls has recently been reported. However, the trends in age at menarche among ethnic minority girls over the past 25 years remain unknown.

Objectives

To compare the differences in median age at menarche among girls aged 9-18 years across 24 ethnic minorities in 2010 and to estimate the trends in age at menarche in different ethnic minorities from 1985 to 2010.

Design

We used data from six cross-sectional Chinese National Surveys on Students' Constitution and Health (1985, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010). The median age at menarche was estimated by using probit analysis.

Results

In 2010, the ethnic minorities with the earliest age at menarche were the Koreans (11.79 years), Mongolians (12.44 years), and Zhuang (12.52 years). The three ethnic minorities with the latest age at menarche were the Sala (14.32 years), Yi (13.74 years), and Uighurs (13.67 years). From 1985 to 2010, the age at menarche declined in all 24 minority groups. The Lisu, Kazakh, and Korean minorities showed the largest reductions in age at menarche by 1.79 (p<0.05), 1.69 (p<0.05), and 1.57 (p<0.05) years, respectively, from 1985 to 2010. The Yi, Sala, and Li minorities showed the smallest reductions, with age at menarche declining by only 0.06 (p>0.05), 0.15 (p>0.05), and 0.15 (p>0.05) years, respectively, in the same period.

Conclusion

A large variation in age at menarche was observed among different ethnic minorities, with the earliest age at menarche found among Korean girls. A reduction in the average age at menarche appeared among most of the ethnic minorities over time, and the largest decrease was observed in Lisu, Kazakh, and Korean girls. Thus, health education should focus on targeting the specific needs of each ethnic minority group.

SUBMITTER: Song Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4518164 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Secular trends in age at menarche among Chinese girls from 24 ethnic minorities, 1985 to 2010.

Song Yi Y Ma Jun J Agardh Anette A Lau Patrick W C PW Hu Peijin P Zhang Bing B

Global health action 20150727

<h4>Background</h4>Declining age at menarche has been observed in many countries. In China, a decrease of 4.5 months per decade in the average age at menarche among the majority Han girls has recently been reported. However, the trends in age at menarche among ethnic minority girls over the past 25 years remain unknown.<h4>Objectives</h4>To compare the differences in median age at menarche among girls aged 9-18 years across 24 ethnic minorities in 2010 and to estimate the trends in age at menarc ...[more]

PMID: 26220757

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Project description:BackgroundLinkages between snack patterns, diet, and obesity in adolescents likely depend on the consumption of main meals, how often snacks are prepared away from home, and whether energy-dense, nutrient-poor snack foods and sugary drinks are frequently consumed. Nutrition-based interventions need to be informed by an understanding of how secular changes in the contribution of snacks to dietary intake may be related to changes in meal frequency as well as how these trends differ by sociodemographic characteristics.ObjectivesTo examine secular trends from 1999 to 2010 in meal and snack patterns among adolescents.DesignA repeated cross-sectional design was used.Participants/settingParticipants from Minneapolis/St Paul, MN, secondary schools completed classroom-administered surveys and food frequency questionnaires in 1999 (n=2,598) and 2010 (n=2,540).Main outcome measuresWeekly meal frequencies; number of snacks consumed on school and vacation/weekend days; frequent consumption of snacks prepared away from home (≥3 times/week); and daily servings of energy-dense, nutrient-poor food/drinks that are commonly consumed at snack occasions.Statistical analyses performedTrends from 1999 to 2010 were examined using inverse probability weighting to control for differences in sociodemographic characteristics in the two samples.ResultsMean frequencies of breakfast and lunch increased modestly in the overall population (both P values <0.001), and there were decreases in the number of snacks consumed on schools days (P<0.001) and vacation/weekend days (P=0.003). Although there was no change in the proportion of adolescents who reported frequent consumption of snacks prepared away from home, there was a secular decrease in energy-dense, nutrient-poor food/drink consumption (P<0.001). Sociodemographic differences in the identified trends were evident.ConclusionsThe observed pattern of sociodemographic characteristic differences in meal and snack trends among adolescents suggests the need for targeted efforts to ensure public health messages reach low-income and ethnic/racial minority population subgroups most vulnerable to poor nutrition and the development of obesity.

Dataset Information

Secular trends in age at menarche among Chinese girls from 24 ethnic minorities, 1985 to 2010.

Background

Objectives

Design

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Secular trends in age at menarche among Chinese girls from 24 ethnic minorities, 1985 to 2010.

Similar Datasets

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