The Decreasing Age at Menarche in Mexico.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the current age at menarche in 2 urban areas from Mexico and to analyze secular trends in the age at menarche in Mexico City. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey and secondary data analyses. SETTING: (1) Samples of female students from Mexico City and from the city of Xalapa; and (2) national health surveys. PARTICIPANTS: (1) Pre- and postmenarcheal students, aged 8-17 years; and (2) data for women born between 1904 and 1999 who grew up in Mexico City were obtained from 3 relevant national health surveys. INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Students were asked if they had had their first period and when it occurred; (2) information on year of birth and age at menarche for the remaining women was obtained from the national surveys; data were divided in groups according to the decade in which the women were born. RESULTS: (1) The estimated mean age at menarche was 11.40 and 11.34 years in Mexico City and Xalapa respectively. (2) There were significant differences in age at menarche among women who were born in the different decades analyzed. Women who were born in the 1990s or later reported an earlier age at menarche than those who were born from the 1940s to 1980s (P < .0001). CONCLUSION: These results could be helpful to health and education professionals who should take into account that because there is currently a widening gap between the physical and psychosocial maturity of girls, they might need special support.

Fatalistic Beliefs and Cervical Cancer Screening Among Mexican Women.

Fatalistic beliefs about cervical cancer were studied in 464 Mexican women, and how such beliefs relate to participation in cervical cancer screening was evaluated. Rural women were less likely than urban women to have had a Pap test and more likely to believe that the illness is due to bad luck or fate. These were also the beliefs most associated with nonscreening among rural women, whereas for urban women the belief most associated with nonscreening was "there is not much I can do to prevent cervical cancer."

Knowledge about cervical cancer prevention and psychosocial barriers to screening among Mexican women.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate: Mexican women's knowledge about cervical cancer prevention; psychosocial barriers to screening; and the relation of both to cervical cancer screening behavior. Three hundred and eighty-four rural and urban women who had achieved a basic or higher educational level were surveyed. Almost 80% of the women had a Pap test but rural women were less likely to have done so. Although most women had received their most recent Pap within the last three years, only 29% had had their first Pap in accordance with the official Mexican norm. Participants showed inadequate knowledge about the risk factors for cervical cancer, especially women with only a basic educational level, irrespective of residence in an urban or rural area. Factors associated with non-screening were poor knowledge about Pap testing and about the risk factors for cervical cancer, as well as the following barriers: believing that Pap testing is too embarrassing; believing that men do not want them to have a Pap test; and believing that the test is painful. In light of these socio-cultural influences, our findings could be helpful in designing effective programs to increase Pap screening.

Psychological meaning of a woman with a hysterectomy among Mexican physicians and women.

The psychological meaning of women who have had a hysterectomy, and attitudes toward them, were explored in 121 Mexican gynecologists, 155 women who had undergone a hysterectomy, and 115 women who had not had a hysterectomy. The surveys were completed between January and May 2011. Both groups of women defined a woman who had had a hysterectomy using words with positive meanings (healthy, happy, reassured, and complete), as well as words with negative meanings (sad, incomplete, and irritable). However, the participants who had not had a hysterectomy defined a woman who had had a hysterectomy using more negative words and showed more negative attitudes toward such a woman with a hysterectomy than those women who had undergone a hysterectomy. Among participants who had undergone a hysterectomy, those who were premenopausal prior to the surgery and those who had undergone bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy defined a woman who had had a hysterectomy in a more negative manner and showed the most negative attitudes. The gynecologists did not use words with emotional content regarding women who had had a hysterectomy and showed more neutral attitudes toward such a woman than did both groups of women. These findings could be helpful in designing support programs for women facing a hysterectomy.