Menstrual Cycle Disorders and their Relationship with Body Mass Index (BMI) in Adolescent Girls

Abstract

Background & Objective: Menarche is an important stage in the development of girls which can predict the adolescent's puberty process and fertility onset. The changes in menstrual cycle have health consequences not only in adolescence but also over the lifecourse. Childhood obesity as a common health problem has been observed in both developed and developing countries, and its prevalence is continuing to increase. The aim of this study was to identify menstrual patterns and related disorders and also to investigate the relationship between menarche age, menstrual disorders, and (BMI) in high school girls in Urmia. Materials & Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 716 adolescent girls aged 14-18 years were selected with multistage sampling from high schools of Urmia (Sept 2012 to Dec 2013). Participants completed the questionnaire of menstrual pattern characteristics including age at menarche, menstrual cycle length, dysmenorrhea, and the need for pain relief. BMI percentile was calculated and obesity was determined using the CDC's 2000 BMI-for-age growth charts. Results:The results showed that the average of age, BMI, and menarche age were: 15.66±1.019 year, 22.05±3.91 kg/m2 and 12.87±0.98 year, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 13.7% and 8.4%, respectively. A large majority of the subjects (76.1%) had a normal, healthy weight. There was a significant association between BMI and the duration of flow, menarche age, menstruation flow, and pain severity (P<0.05). Conclusion:Based on the results, planning and intervention for decreasing the BMI in high school girls can help reduce menstrual disorders. Future studies are required to confirm and complete our results.