Menstrual cycle in women is getting earlier and earlier, is it a cause for concern?

The age at which girls start menstruating is getting younger - Photo: NYT

According to the Washington Post , a new study of 71,341 women shows a growing concern as the age at which girls start menstruating is getting younger. The trend is even more pronounced for certain racial and ethnic groups.

Menstrual cycles are getting earlier and more irregular.

The findings also show that many girls and young women are experiencing irregular menstrual cycles for many years, a risk factor for a range of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases such as diabetes and some cancers.

The data was collected as part of the Apple Women's Health Study, developed by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Apple.

The study used cycle tracking data from iPhones and Apple Watches, as well as surveys to learn more about menstrual cycles, health risks, and gynecological conditions. The findings may not be representative of the entire U.S. population.

But the findings, published in JAMA Network Open , mirror other research, including one that looked at trends in menstrual age among white and black women in the United States over 50 years, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a government report on health trends.

New research in JAMA found that the average age of first menstruation among Apple users dropped to 11.9 years old for those born between 2000 and 2005, compared to 12.5 years old for those born between 1950 and 1969.

Participants who identified themselves as Asian, non-Hispanic black or multiracial, consistently reported an earlier mean age at menarche than white participants.

The researchers say the data is important because Hispanic and Asian populations have been under-represented in previous research on age at first menstruation. The study also focuses on a new concept called “vital markers” — the time between first menstruation and regular menstrual cycles.

Early menstruation leads to many health risks

"We found that it took longer for children to become regular. This is also very worrying because irregular periods are an important indicator of adverse health events later in life. This is a warning sign. We need earlier counseling and intervention for irregular periods in children and adolescents," said Zifan Wang, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

The data also show that the proportion of girls who started menstruating before age 11, or who started menstruating very early before age 9, was higher among the more recent birth cohorts, compared to the earlier birth cohorts.

Girls who start menstruating at a very young age face more difficult health problems later in life, said Shruthi Mahalingaiah, one of the study's authors and an assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women's health at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

Mahalingaiah stressed that early symptoms can be a sign of future health conditions, which can help doctors make decisions about care. She noted that a healthy diet, exercise, and adequate sleep are important for girls of all ages.

“I would bring up the issue of awareness and education again, so that parents and health providers are aware,” she says. “We need to look at health-promoting factors that we can do to impact not only the age of menarche but also the length of time it takes to get regular cycles.”

What happened?

Childhood obesity is a risk factor for early puberty and appears to be contributing to the trend, the researchers said. But the earlier age of menarche occurred even before obesity, suggesting other factors were at play.

One major concern is “forever chemicals,” with nearly 15,000 man-made chemicals used in a wide range of consumer products and found in many food and water sources. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals, as well as heavy metals and air pollutants, may all play a role in early puberty.

And more importantly, poor diet including eating a lot of sugary foods, stress and adverse childhood experiences can also affect puberty.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/menstrual-cycle-is-more-frequent-than-normal-20240530212338243.htm