International Variability of Ages at Menarche and Menopause: Patterns and Main Determinants
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Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to review published studies on the variability of age at menarche and age at menopause throughout the world, and to identify the main causes for age variation in the timing of these events. We first present a summary table including mean (or median) values of the age at menarche in 67 countries, and of the age at menopause in 26 countries. General linear models showed that mean age at menarche was strongly linked to the mean female life expectancy, suggesting that one or several variables responsible for inequalities in longevity similarly influenced the onset of menarche. A closer examination of the data revealed that among several variables reflecting living conditions, the factors best explaining the variation in age at menarche were adult illiteracy rate and vegetable calorie consumption. Because adult illiteracy rate has some correlation with the age at which children are involved in physical activities that can be detrimental in terms of energy expenditure, our results suggest that age at menarche reflects more a trend in energy balance than merely nutritional status. In addition, we found the main determinant of age at menopause to be the mean fertility. This study thus suggests that, on a large scale, age at menarche is mainly determined by extrinsic factors such as living conditions, while age at menopause seems to be mainly influenced by intrinsic factors such as the reproductive history of individuals. Finally, these findings suggest that human patterns cannot be addressed solely by traditional, small-scale investigations on single populations. Rather, complementary research on a larger scale, such as this study, may be more appropriate in defining some interesting applications to the practical problems of human ecology.Keywords:
Menarche
Menarche
Linear growth
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Epidemiological transition
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The primary estrogen, estradiol plays a crucial role in bone formation and after the onset of menarche in girls influences the bone growth and is the base for determining the peak bone mass in late adolescence years. Thus the onset of menarche is crucial in determining the bone health status of women in later years. In this regard, the present study is focused to test the influence of age at menarche in the life of adulthood. Rural women with age range of 35 to 74 years (n=260) are selected and evaluated for the influence of age at menarche by considering menarche nature in terms of age at menarche as early, ideal and late . The present study results have demonstrated the late menarche is the major detrimental factor for poor bone mass. Early and ideal menarche conditions are associated significantly with greater retention of bone density among adults.
Menarche
Bone Health
Peak bone mass
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In the course of human history, life expectancy at birth has increased from around 20–30 years during prehistoric times to 75–80 years in many low‐mortality countries today. Nearly half of this decline has taken place during the twentieth century. In the middle of the 1500s, at the start of the first available continuous series of national mortality estimates, life expectancy in England was still in the mid‐30s and showed little sustained improvement until the nineteenth century. By the end of the 1800s, however, steady mortality decline had begun in all European countries for which reliable data series are available, and by the end of the twentieth century, life expectancy had reached the mid‐ to upper 70s in many industrialized countries. Although national‐level mortality data did not become available for the United States until 1933, existing evidence suggests that mortality decline in the US was similar to that in England. The highest life expectancy has been recorded in Japan, a developed country where health improvements in the early part of the twentieth century lagged behind those of European countries, but where mortality declines have been particularly impressive since the 1950s. Life expectancy at birth in Japan reached 84.6 years for women and 77.6 years for men by the year 2000. Moreover, the United Nations' estimates show an average life expectancy of 74.8 years in the more developed regions of the world, with 56 percent of industrialized countries having life expectancies of over 75 years in 1995–2000 (Table 1). The lowest life expectancies in industrialized countries are found in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, where health conditions stagnated during the late twentieth century, particularly for adult men.
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Total fertility rate
Sub-replacement fertility
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Menarche
Menstruation
Age groups
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Russia is one of the few countries in the world where life expectancy in 2010 was the same as in 1960 or even lower. The leading causes of death are cardiovascular diseases, malignant neoplasm, and external causes. Mortality crisis in Russia is of such magnitude and urgency that the limited available resources can be applied only to the problems of the highest priority in the most cost-effective way. This paper presents results of assessment of life expectancy losses and damage cost from decrease of life expectancy due to different risk factors for 82 federal subjects of Russia. To identify preventable causes of death the difference between Russia and the countries of European Union is considered.
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