ScholarWorks@중앙대학교

초록

Backgrounds: The age at menarche has decreased worldwide. Previous studies on Korean adolescents have reported a downward trend in age at menarche. This study aimed to investigate the current trends in age at menarche among Korean adolescents using nationally representative data. Materials and methods: The study used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2021. A total of 50,730 females born between 1927 and 2004 with information on age at menarche were included. The trend in age at menarche was analyzed according to 15 birth-year groups (with 5-year intervals) using quantile regression analysis. Results: The mean age at menarche decreased from 16.92 ± 0.06 years for females born before 1935 to 12.45 ± 0.04 years for females born between 2000 and 2004 (p <.001). According to the percentile group of age at menarche, mean menarche age decreased by –0.071 years per year (95% confidence interval [CI], –0.072 to –0.070) in total, –0.050 years per year (95% CI, –0.052 to –0.048) in the 3rd percentile group, –0.088 years per year (95% CI, –0.091 to –0.085) in the 97th percentile group (p <.001 for all). A decreasing trend of age at menarche was more prominent in the obesity group (–0.080 years per year, 95% CI, –0.082 to –0.078) compared to the non-obesity group (–0.069 years per year, 95% CI, –0.071 to –0.068) (p <.001 for both). Conclusion: Ongoing downward trend in age at menarche was observed in Korean females born until 2004, decreasing by 0.71 years per decade. The downward trend was faster in individuals with a higher percentile of age at menarche and in those with obesity. Copyright © 2024 Lee, Kim and Kim.

키워드