Menarcheal age in norway in the 19th century: A re-evaluation of the historical sources

Abstract

A fall in the age of menarche during the last fifty years is well documented from many parts of the world, among them Norway. Tanner says that this trend can be extended back at least to the middle of the last century, and he uses Norwegian sources to support this hypothesis. Re-examination of these Norwegian sources indicates that there was no fall at all during the ninetheenth century, and that the age at menarche was constant at approximately 16.0 years for the lower social classes throughout this period. It is also suggested that the age at menarche was constant at approximately 14 years for the higher social classes.

Ultrasound assessment of pubertal breast development in girls: intra- and interobserver agreement

“…The age at menarche declined between the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century in Western countries (57)(58)(59)(60). In Norway, the menarcheal age fell from above 15.6 years for women born around 1850 to about 13.3 years for women born after 1940 (58) and has been stable at around 13 years since then (61)(62)(63)(64)(65)(66). This finding is consistent with trends in other European countries (27,30,31,67).…”

Menarcheal age in Europe

“…The most famous analysis of the secular trend in the age at menarche in Europe is that of Tanner (1962), who, with respect to the older literature, refers mainly to Backman (1948). Tanner's graphical illustration is often reprinted and his quantitative conclusion on the magnitude and rate of decrease is often cited, although some more recent studies in which the 19th century data for Norway have been re-evaluated (Brundtland and Wallbe, 1976;Brudevoll et al, 1979) strongly indicate that Tanner's quantitative analysis should be revised. Further, at the beginning of the 1960s, the end of the secular trend in menarche was not in sight in most European countries.…”

Decrease in Menarcheal Age From 1966 to 1983 in Denmark

“…Recent recalculations on Norwegian data indicate that the greater part of the acceleration occurred during the first half of this century (3,5). Moreover, it has been suggested that the trend has come to a halt, since menarcheal age remained constant at about 13% years in Oslo from 1952 to 1970 (4).…”