IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 41 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.12891/ceog15662014

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology (CEOG) is published by IMR Press from Volume 47 Issue 1 (2020). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.

Original Research
Age of menarche as a risk factor for gynecological cancer in Iranian women and review of the literature
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1 Functional Gynecology, Teleghani Hospital, Tehran
2 Gynecology Oncology Department, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Science, Yazd
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran
4 Department of Internal Medicine, Azad University of Medical Science, Yazd Branch, Yazd
5 Azad University of Medical Science, Yazd Branch, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Science, Yazd (Iran)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2014, 41(1), 48–51; https://doi.org/10.12891/ceog15662014
Published: 10 February 2014
Abstract

Background: This study analyzed the age of menarche in different regions of Iran with a review of previous studies and examined the changes of menarche age over the past years. Materials and Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study which was conducted in 11 different provinces of Iran with a sample size of 26,831. The year of birth and age of menarche in the population obtained through health records which were available in the health centers collected and also questioning the subjects under investigation. Results: The highest average age of 14.6 years obtained from Kermanshah province and the lowest was from Kerman with 12.98 years. The lowest average was observed with age group under 30 (13.22) and the highest age of menarche (13.53) belonged to the 30 to 40 year age group. The average age of menarche in this study was 13.24 years. Discussion: A declining trend of about two to four months for each ten years has been observed in girls born in 1920s to 1940s and then an upward trend of about nine months for ten years in subjects born in 1950s and 1960s. The stressful condition of war and poor economic and social conditions of Iranian people can justify this upward leap. However in women under 30 years of age, the menarche age showed a rapid declining trend to 13.22 years. Conclusion: Obtaining accurate information and knowing all the factors affecting this issue can be very useful in planning the public health in women and health educational programs.
Keywords
Age of menarche
Risk factors
Gynecological cancer
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