Relationship of menstrual irregularities to BMI and nutritionalstatus in adolescent girls

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of Body Mass Index and nutritional status on the menstrual pattern in adolescent girls Methods: Four hundred one adolescent girls who attained menarche were selected from five schools in Hyderabad. The data was collected by trained medical undergraduate and postgraduates by interviewing adolescent school girls using a pre-designed pre-tested questionnaire. BMI was calculated using the formula: BMI (kg/m2) = Weight (kg) / Height 2 (m2). Hb was estimated by Sahlis method using a haemoglobinometer. Data was analyzed using SPSS 11.0. Results : The mean age of the girls was 14.96 +/- 1.5 years. Three hundred and five (76%) of the girls had a normal menstrual cycle, twenty-eight (7 %) had frequent periods, fifty-two (13%) had infrequent periods and sixteen (4%) of the girls had totally irregular cycles and a pattern could not be determined. Three hundred and five (76%) of girls had a normal menstrual flow, sixty-eight (17%) had heavy flow and twenty-eight (7%) had scanty flow. One hundred fifty two (38%) of girls complained of premenstrual symptoms. Two hundred thirty one (60%) girls were clinically anemic. Two hundred and seventy seven (69%) had a BMI between 18.5 - 24.9 kg/m2. One hundred and eight (27%) were underweight with a BMI of 14 – 18.49kg/m2, while sixteen (4%) were overweight with BMI 25 – 29.99 kg/m2. A statistically significant relationship was found between BMI and social class (P<0.001) and BMI and menstrual pattern P<0.001). Conclusion : The study concludes that a majority of the girls had clinically obvious nutritional deficiency diseases. Out of the four hundred and one girls who were checked, two hundred thirty one were found to be anemic. Majority of the girls (84%) had a normal menstrual pattern, normal BMI and attained menarche before the age of 16. Overweight girls had infrequent periods.

Overview of Adolescent Menstrual Problems and Its Relation to Bmi, Eating Habits and Physical Activity

“…In spite of these differences; population with the normal, underweight, overweight BMI nearly correlated with Saira Dars et al 5 Table 14 Observations in association of BMI, Dieting habits, eating Junk food, physical exercise to Adolescent menstrual problems in present study and study by Rupa Vani et al 7 were nearly correlating. This suggests that changing lifestyle, eating habits, frequency of physical activity & BMI have an effect on adolescent menstrual cycles.…”

Body Mass Index Influences the Age at Menarche and Duration of Menstrual Cycle

“…Body fat and obesity influence the menstrual cycle leading to cycle irregularities [42]. Overweight and obese young females are at a greater risk of experiencing longer and infrequent periods [43][44]. Women with low or high BMI related to obesity experience more prolonged menstrual cycles [45].…”

Association between Awareness of Nutrition Labels and Menstrual Cycle Irregularity in Korean Women: The Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010~2012)

“…In contrast, the probability of having an irregular cycle increased linearly with increasing waisthip ratio [21]. Obese women are more likely than non-obese women to experience menstrual cycle irregularities, including amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea [9,22]. Obesity is also linked to diabetes through the increased production of adipokines and cytokines, reductions in adiponectin levels, altered ectopic fat deposition, and mitochondrial dysfunction [23].…”

“…The awareness of nutrition labels was associated with a decrease in body weight and the probability of obesity [27], and obese women are more likely than non-obese women to experience menstrual cycle irregularity [9,10,22]. Also, maternal obesity increases the risk of preterm delivery [28], but the association between being overweight and preterm delivery is less clear [29].…”