Relationship Between Somatotype and Age at Menarche Among Adolescent Girls in Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3923/pjn.2017.351.358Keywords:
Age at menarche, ectomorph, endomorph, mesomorph, somatotypeAbstract
Background and Objective: Differences in the body size, shape and composition of girls before and after menarche may due to differences in age at menarche. The aim of the present study was to determine age at menarche and its relationship to somatotype components among adolescent girls in Yogyakarta province, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 401 urban and rural junior high school girls (aged 13-15 years) was selected using stratified random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on age at menarche and other relevant data. Ten anthropometric measurements were collected and Heath-Carter somatotypes were determined. The correlation between somatotype component and age at menarche was analysed using Pearson correlation analysis. Results: The mean age at menarche was 12.01±0.89 years for urban girls and 12.97±0.91 years for rural girls (p<0.01). The results suggested that age at menarche differed between urban and rural girls; urban girls were heavier and more endomorphic than rural girls. Statistical analysis revealed that age at menarche was negatively correlated with endomorphy and mesomorphy components (r = -0.22 and r = -0.123, respectively), but positively correlated with ectomorphy component (r = 0.207). Conclusion: The findings indicated that age at menarche increases with increasing ectomorphy, but decreases with endomorphy and mesomorphy components. Thus, girls with high endomorphy and mesomorphy attained menarche earlier than did girls with high ectomorphy.
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