Age at Menarche and its Nutrition-Related Factors among School Girls in Shiraz, Southern Iran

Menarche is an important period in the health of adolescent girls, and different factors, including genetic and environmental factors affect the age of menarche. The aim of the present study was to determine the age at menarche and its nutrition-related factors in school girls in Shiraz, southern Iran.
In a cross-sectional study, 481 adolescent girls aged 10-13 years were enrolled based on a two-stage cluster random sampling. Weight, height and body mass index (BMI) were assessed. Z-scores for weight-for-age (WAZ), height-for-age (HAZ), and BMI-for-age (BMIZ) were determined based on World Health Organization standards. Associations between food intake and anthropometric measures and menarche age and also between anthropometric measures and menarche age were tested using Pearson correlation and linear regression, respectively.
Mean age at menarche was 12.27±0.73 years. A significant correlation was observed between the age of menarche and cheese, dairy, legume, and egg consumption. Logistic regression analyses showed z-scores significantly for WAZ (-0.64, -0.24), HAZ (-0.70, -0.37), and BMIZ (-0.59, -0.16) as strong predictors for age at menarche.
HAZ, WAZ, and BMIZ and consumption of cheese, dairy, legume, and egg had significant inverse associations with menarches's age.