Impact of Socio-Economic Status on Age at Menarche

The first menstrual bleeding is known as Menarche. It marks the beginning of the reproductive phase in a woman's life. It serves as an intermediate health outcome that affects the women's wellbeing at later stages of life. It is also considered as an indicator of quality of life. This study was a cross sectional retrospective (i.e. recall) study carried out in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh India. Multistage sampling technique was used to identify the sampling units. The data was collected from adolescent students (aged 10-19 years) from grade 7-12. Adolescent girls born in U.P and experiencing menstruation were selected for the study. The study estimated the age at menarche. The estimated average age at menarche was 12.24 years ± 1.15 years (95% CI, 12.11 years -12.38 years). The menarche ages ranged between 10 and 12 years for about 49%, and between 13 and 14 years for 51%. It was seen that a maximum number of girls experiencing an earlier onset of menarche (between 10-12 years) belonged to middle socio-economic stratum. The results support the trend of lowering of age at menarche as one move from lower and middle, to higher economic group.