Age of thelarche and menarche in contemporary US females: a cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

Aim A recent secular trend towards earlier thelarche has been suggested. The aim of this study is to examine normative ages of thelarche and menarche in contemporary US females. Methods Trained physicians documented Tanner breast stage by observation in a cross-sectional cohort. Age of menarche was self-reported. The subjects were healthy female children and adolescents. The mean age of thelarche was determined by probit analysis and the mean age of menarche was determined by using a normal time-to-event model. Results Mean age of thelarche was 9.7 years among 610 females aged 3.0–17.9 years (70% non-Hispanic Caucasian (NHC), 14% African-Americans, 7% Hispanic, 9% “other”). The mean age of menarche was 12.8 years for NHC, with African-Americans having menarche 0.6 years earlier. Conclusions Thelarche occurred earlier than recently reported, while age of menarche remained unchanged, this supported a persistent secular trend towards earlier thelarche but stable age of menarche. This suggests that the observed thelarche is gonadotropin-independent or the tempo of pubertal advancement has slowed.

Pubertal breast development in primary school girls in Sokoto, North-western Nigeria

“…The girls who were in a more advanced Tanner stage of breast development were older. This finding, as in most other studies, was statistically significant, [10,11,23] suggesting a linear relationship between sexual maturity and chronological age in a normal setting.…”

“…In contrast, researchers in SA [28] reported a stable onset of puberty (age of breast budding ranging between 9.8 -10.5 years) for 10 -15 years and a significant secular trend in menarche, with an average decline of 0.5 years/decade for urban black SA girls, suggesting that the tempo of pubertal maturation is increasing in girls born in the Soweto-Johannesburg area. [28] Their finding contrasts with those of most other studies [10,11,23] that have reported a significant secular trend in breast development and stable mean age at menarche over several decades, suggesting the end of the secular trend for menarche. Our study did not show pubertal onset below 8 years nor above 13 years of age.…”

“…[22,23] Multistage random sampling was utilised in the selection of three local government areas (LGAs) out of five, and 20 (30%) of the total number of schools in the Sokoto metropolis. Both public and private schools were selected in proportion to their distribution in the three…”

Toward More Targeted and Cost-Effective Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analog Treatment in Girls with Central Precocious Puberty

“…For girls whose puberty starts before the age of 7 years and who may reach menarche by the age of 9 years, this concern is appropriate and should be addressed. However, when puberty starts at close to the age of 8 years and is not suppressed, menarche usually does not occur until the age of 10 years or later, as US studies indicate that it takes 2.4–3 years to progress from thelarche to menarche [27, 28]. How strong is the evidence that girls having menarche close to 10 years of age experience significant distress and, if so, benefit from GnRHa treatment designed to delay menarche until the age of 11 years or later?…”

Exploring Normative Trends of Positive Youth Development: An Examination of Adolescent Social and Emotional Skills

“…One possible explanation for puberty not predicting SEL profile is that although the sample was primarily 5 th graders, they were further along in puberty that what has been suggested by previous literature (e.g. Cabrera, Bright, Frane, Blethen, & Lee, 2014;Herman-Giddens et al, 2012). Another possible explanation for this finding is that there was not enough variation of pubertal status in the sample.…”