The levelling-off of the secular trend of age at menarche among Italian girls.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study was to verify whether the secular trend stopped in Italy by comparing the results of a 1990-2000 birth cohort versus a 1980-1990 birth cohort of Italian young women. The results were used to speculate about age at menarche as adaptive response to non-genetic factors. METHODS: In 2016, a study was set on 413, 18-to-26 year-old women (1990-2000 birth cohort) attending two Italian Universities by web-based, self-reported questionnaires. Previously in 2000, a research including 3,783 high school female students (1980-1990 birth cohort) was led. The age at menarche distribution was performed by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The comparison between the findings of the two birth cohorts was performed by Wilcoxon sum-rank test. Mixed models analysis was applied to evaluate the effect of cohort and socio-economic status on age at menarche. RESULTS: 1990-2000 cohort's age at menarche median was 12.44y (95%CI 12.37; 12.59y). There was no significant difference with age at menarche of the previous cohort (p = 0.56). Consistently, the advance of age at menarche in comparison to the mothers' one was not significantly different between the two cohorts (-0.27y±0.10y vs -0.25y±0.03y, p = 0.33). The socio-economic level was not significantly associated with menarcheal age. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study confirm that, like in other developed countries, the advance of age at menarche has stopped in Italy, consistently with the stop of the improvement of socio-economic conditions. Further studies are needed to explore the differential effect of each non-genetic factor to outline future scenarios of human sexual maturation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: the Comitato Etico per la Sperimentazione Clinica (CESC) della Provincia di Padova of the Veneto Region (Italy), n°3993/U16/16.

Menstrual Cycle and Headache in Teenagers.

OBJECTIVE: This population-based study on school-aged girls aimed to estimate the rate of peri-menstrual headache, evaluate headache pain pattern during the menstrual cycle, and verify its relationships with physical, psychosocial and life-style factors. METHODS: The students (n = 4973) fulfilled a self-administered questionnaire on demographic and behavioral characteristics, menarche, menstrual pattern and features including headache and dysmenorrhea. The prevalence of headache and the mean pain intensity score at the three menstrual cycle phases (premenstrual, menstrual, in-between period) were estimated, both overall and by gynecological year. Furthermore, the prevalence of three different patterns of headache (peri menstrual/mid-cycle/acyclic) was evaluated, together with the mean pain intensity score. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of headache at least once at any time during the menstrual cycle was 64.4%. At multivariable logistic analysis, gynecological age (OR 1.07; 95%CI 1.03-1.12), middle social level (1.24; 1.01-1.55, compared to high social level), physical activity (0.67; 0.51-0.89), oral contraceptive use (1.34; 1.04-1.73) and dysmenorrhea (2.30; 1.54-3.42) were significantly associated with headache. Among girls with headache, 83.4% had peri-menstrual headache (44.6% premenstrual, 38.8% menstrual), 3.5% mid-cycle headache and 13.2% acyclic headache. The gynaecological age and dysmenorrhea were significantly associated with the headache pattern (p = 0.03 and p < 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that peri-menstrual headache is highly prevalent among adolescents. In girls, the headache rate linearly raises with higher gynecological age; menses-related painful syndromes, such as headache and dysmenorrhea, are strongly interrelated. The anamnesis and monitoring of menstrual health should be mandatory when taking care of girls with headache.

Age at Menarche and Menstrual Abnormalities in Adolescence: Does it Matter? The Evidence from a Large Survey among Italian Secondary Schoolgirls.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the independent role of age at menarche on menstrual abnormalities among adolescents. METHODS: The present study was a multicenter cross-sectional study on a large sample (n = 3782) of Italian girls aged 13-21 y attending secondary school who already had menarche. Girls were asked to fill in a questionnaire on menarcheal age and menstrual features during the latest three menses. The gynecological age was computed as the difference between age at the survey and the age at menarche. Main outcome measures were: prevalence of oligomenorrhea, polymenorrhea, menstrual cycle irregularity, abnormal bleeding length and dysmenorrhea. Irregularity in the recent past and since menarche was also studied. Multiple logistic models were used to identify any independent association between each abnormal feature and age at menarche or gynecological age. Adjusted ORs and 95%CI were performed. RESULTS: After adjusting for covariates, menarcheal age was not independently associated with polymenorrhea (OR = 0.81; 95%CI 0.63-1.04), oligomenorrhea (OR = 1.16; 95%CI 0.94-1.43), menstrual cycle irregularity (OR = 0.99; 95%CI 0.86-1.14), abnormal bleeding length (OR = 0.96; 95%CI 0.87-1.06) and dysmenorrhea (OR = 1.03; 95%CI 0.85-1.24). The multivariate analysis suggests that the higher prevalence of oligomenorrhea and menstrual cycle irregularity among the girls who were older at menarche might be purely explained by their younger gynecological age. CONCLUSIONS: No evidence of any independent influence of age at menarche on menstrual abnormalities among young girls was shown by the investigation. The findings suggest that, after menarche, adolescent girls' menstrual health should be checked to monitor the endocrine system maturation and to early intercept latent disorders becoming symptomatic.

Primary Dysmenorrhea in Adolescents: Prevalence, Impact and Recent Knowledge.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Dysmenorrhea is commonly categorized into two types; primary and secondary. Primary dysmenorrhea (PD) is the focus of this review. PD is defined as painful menses with cramping sensation in the lower abdomen that is often accompanied by other symptoms, such as sweating, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and tremulousness. All these symptoms occur just before or during the menses in women with normal pelvic anatomy. In adolescents the prevalence of PD varies between 16% and 93%, with severe pain perceived in 2% to 29% of the studied girls. Several studies suggest that severe menstrual pain is associated with absenteeism from school or work and limitation of other daily activities. One-third to one-half of females with PD are missing school or work at least once per cycle, and more frequently in 5% to 14% of them. The wide variation in the prevalence rates may be attributed to the use of selected groups of subjects. Many risk factors are associated with increased severity of dysmenorrhea including earlier age at menarche, long menstrual periods, heavy menstrual flow, smoking and positive family history. Young women using oral contraceptive pills (OCP) report less severe dysmenorrhea. The considerably high prevalence of dysmenorrhea among adolescents verified that this condition is a significant public health problem that requires great attention. SUMMARY OF MAIN RESULTS: Many methodological problems are encountered during quantifying and grading severity of pain related to dysmenorrhea. Quantifying and assessment tools depend on women's self-reporting with potential bias. There is a scarcity of longitudinal studies on the natural history of dysmenorrhea as well as the possible effects of many modifiable risk factors. In addition, the duration of follow-up in the available studies is relatively short. Therefore, several aspects are still open for research. Medical treatment for dysmenorrhea includes anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), OCP or surgical intervention. The efficacy of conventional treatments using NSAIDs and OCP is high. However, failure rate may reach up to 20% to 25%, besides the occurrence of drug-associated adverse effects. Only 6% of adolescents receive medical advice to treat dysmenorrhea while 70% practice self-management. Unfortunately, some girls even abuse these medications (non-therapeutic high doses) for quick pain relief. The persistence of dysmenorrhea despite the use of OCP and/or NSAIDs drugs is a strong indicator of an organic pelvic disease. This condition mandates an appropriate referral to a gynecologist with proper laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis and/or other pelvic diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Dysmenorrhea is an important health problem for adolescents, school and occupational as well as practitioners that adversely affects the daily activities and quality of life for adolescent women. The accurate prevalence of dysmenorrhea is difficult to establish due to the variety of diagnostic criteria and the subjective nature of the symptoms. In adolescents, moderate to severe dysmenorrhea that affects lifestyle and does not respond to medical treatment requires professional attention and proper diagnosis of possible underlying pelvic disease. Therefore, adolescent care providers should be more knowledgeable and actively involved in the care of dysmenorrhea.

Onset of menstrual cycle and menses features among secondary school girls in Italy: A questionnaire study on 3,783 students.

PREMISE: Healthcare professionals need updated information about what is the range of "normal" variation of menstrual cycle features to support young girls and their parents in managing reproductive health, and to detect diseases early. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study aimed to provide an updated picture of age at menarche and main menstrual cycle characteristics and complaints in an Italian population-based sample of 3,783 adolescents attending secondary school. Girls filled in a self-administered anonymous questionnaire including questions about demography, anthropometry, smoking and drinking habits, use of contraceptive, socioeconomic status, age at menarche, menstrual pattern, and physical/psychological menstrual complaints. Mean age at menarche and prevalence of polymenorrhea (cycle length < 21 days), oligomenorrhea (cycle length > 35 days), irregularity, dysmenorrhea, and of physical/psychological complaints were computed. Factors associated with age at menarche and menstrual disturbances were explored by using multiple logistic models. RESULTS: The girls' mean age was 17.1 years (SD 1.4 years) and the mean age at menarche was 12.4 years (SD 1.3 years); menarche occurred with two monthly peaks of frequency in July-September and in December-January (P < 0.0001). Age at menarche was significantly associated with geographic genetics (as expressed by parents' birth area), mother's menarcheal age, BMI, family size, and age at data collection. The prevalence of polymenorrhea was about 2.5%, oligomenorrhea was declared by 3.7%, irregular length by 8.3%, while long bleeding (>6 days) was shown in 19.6% of girls. Gynecological age was significantly associated with cycle length (P < 0.0001) with long cycles becoming more regular within the fourth year after menarche, while frequency of polymenorrhea stabilized after the second gynecological year. Oligomenorrhea and irregularity were both significantly associated with long menstrual bleeding (adjusted OR = 2.36; 95% CI = 1.55-3.60, and adjusted OR = 2.59; 95% CI = 1.95-3.44, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the study support the levelling-off of secular trend in menarche anticipation in Italy and confirm the timing in menstrual cycle regularization. The study provides updated epidemiological data on frequency of menstrual abnormalities to help reproductive health professionals in managing adolescent gynecology.

Menstrual pattern and menstrual disorders among adolescents: an update of the Italian data.

BACKGROUND: The most striking event in the whole process of female puberty is the onset of menstruation. To our knowledge, no large population-based studies have been performed on the topic of menstrual health among Italian adolescents in recent years. The aims of this study were to produce up-to-date information on the menstrual pattern of Italian girls attending secondary school, and to estimate the prevalence of menstrual cycle abnormalities in this population. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study on a population-based sample of Italian adolescents aged 13-21 years attending secondary school. Only girls who had already started menstruating were requested to participate. Information was collected by means of a questionnaire that included items on the girls' demographic details, anthropometrics, smoking and drinking habits, use of contraceptive pills, and socioeconomic status. The questions on the girls' menstrual pattern concerned their age at menarche, duration of the most recent menstruation intervals (<21, 21-35, >35 days, variable), average days of bleeding (<4, 4-6, >6 days), and any menstrual problems and their frequency. RESULTS: A total of 6,924 questionnaires were administered and 4,992 (71%) were returned. One hundred girls failed to report their date of birth, so 4,892 subjects were analyzed. The girls' mean age was 17.1 years (SD ±1.4); their mean age at menarche was 12.4 (±1.3) years, median 12.4 years (95%CI 12.3-12.5). In our sample population, 3.0% (95%CI 2.5%-3.4%) of the girls had menstruation intervals of less than 21 days, while it was more than 35 days in 3.4% (95%CI 2.9%-3.9%). About 9% of the girls (95%CI 7.7%-9.4%) said the length of their menstruation interval was currently irregular. Short bleeding periods (<4 days) were reported in 3.2% of the sample population (95%CI 2.7%-3.7%), long periods (>6 days) in 19% (95%CI 17.9%-20.1%). Menstruation-related abdominal pain was reported by about 56% of our sample. About 6.2% of the girls (95%CI 5.4%-7.0%) were suffering from dysmenorrhea. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, this is one of the largest studies on menstrual patterns and menstrual disorders among Italian adolescent girls. Adolescent girls referring persistent oligomenorrhoea, in first two years from menarche, had a higher risk for developing a persistent menstrual irregularity. They had longer bleeding periods (>6 days) and this has practical implications because it makes these adolescents potentially more susceptible to iron deficiency anemia. Clinicians need to identify menstrual abnormalities as early as possible in order to minimize their possible consequences and sequelae, and to promote proper health information.We recommend that adolescents should be encouraged to chart their menstrual frequency and regularity prospectively from the menarche onwards.

Update on age at menarche in Italy: toward the leveling off of the secular trend.

PURPOSE: To update the information on age at menarche in the Italian population and to verify the influence of genetic, nutritional, and socioeconomic factors on menarcheal age. Recent studies suggest that the magnitude of the secular trend toward an earlier age at menarche is slackening in industrialized countries. METHODS: This multicenter study was conducted on a large, population-based sample of Italian high school girls (n = 3,783), using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to gather information on the girls, including demography, anthropometry, menarcheal date, regularity of menses, behavioral habits, and physical activity. The questionnaire was also used to gather information on parents, including demography and mothers' and sisters' menarcheal ages. The median age at menarche and its 95% confidence interval were estimated by means of Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. To identify the independent predictive factors of age at menarche, multivariate mixed-effects models were applied. RESULTS: The median age at menarche of the subjects was 12.4 years (95% confidence interval: 12.34-12.46). The girls had their first menses approximately one-quarter of a year (median-0.13) earlier than did their mothers (p < .0001). Among all variables, parents' birth area, body mass index, family size, and the mother's menarcheal age were significantly and independently associated with age at menarche. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the reduction in the trend toward earlier menarche in Italy. The results also confirmed that genetic and nutritional factors are strong markers for early menarche. Currently, socioeconomic factors do not seem to play as significant a role as in the past.