Menstrual Patterns and Age of Menarche in Young Women from the United States

Abstract

 Background
 Menarche is a salient event for adolescents that marks the beginning of reproductive life and the commencement of menstrual 
cycles. Despite this, much less is known about how the timing of menarche is related to menstrual patterns.
 Methods
 To that end, a cross-sectional sample of 523 young women in college from the United States provided data on menarcheal age, 
menses and cycle length, blood loss during menses, dysmenorrhea, and menstrual cycle regularity. Sociodemographic data such 
as age of first sexual intercourse, presence of biological father while growing up, self-reported body weight, and urban versus 
rural place of residence were also obtained.
 Results
 Mean menarcheal age was 12.89±1.31-years. Regarding cycle length, 42 (8.2%) of the women had cycles shorter than 21-days, 
402 (78.2%) between 21 and 35-days, and 70 (13.6%) had cycles longer than 35-days. Concerning menorrhagia, 61 (11.8%) re
ported a small quantity of blood loss, 363 (70.1%) a medium quantity, and 94 (18.1%) reported a large loss of blood (menorrha
gia). Duration of menstrual bleeding also showed variability with 33 (6.4%), 280 (54.2%), and 204 (39.5%) reporting menstrual 
bleeding lasting less than 3-days, 2 to 5-days, and greater than 5-days, respectively. The overall prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 
61.7% (n=319) of the sample, while 36.3% (n=187) reported irregular menstrual cycles. Logistic regression indicated that early 
menarche, long menses duration, large self-reported amount of blood loss, and early age of first sexual intercourse were signif
icant predictors of dysmenorrhea, while women with small self-reported amount of blood loss, a short menses duration, and 
long cycles were less likely to have dysmenorrhea. Concerning the timing of menarche, participants who were over-weight, grew 
up in urban environments, had dysmenorrhea, had early first consensual sexual intercourse, and grew up without a biological 
father, were more likely to have early menarche. 
Conclusion
 These findings suggest that menstrual disorders are common among a sample of young women from the United States and also 
identify sociodemographic variables that are related to menarcheal age