Declining ages at menarche in an agrarian rural region of Poland

Objective Age at menarche in Poland has varied with political and socioeconomic changes. An increase in age at menarche corresponded to a period of economic crisis and food rationing between 1976 and 1989. Experiencing food shortages in utero or during childhood development can affect menarcheal tim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of human biology 2020-05, Vol.32 (3), p.e23362-n/a
Main Authors: Rogers, Mary P., Lee, Katharine M. N., Galbarczyk, Andrzej, Klimek, Magdalena, Klein, Laura D., Zabłocka‐Słowińska, Katarzyna, Jasienska, Grazyna, Clancy, Kathryn B. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Buffers
Children
Economic crisis
Food
Human ecology
Life history
Menarche
Regression analysis
Rural areas
Socioeconomics
Statistical analysis
Variance analysis
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Summary:Objective Age at menarche in Poland has varied with political and socioeconomic changes. An increase in age at menarche corresponded to a period of economic crisis and food rationing between 1976 and 1989. Experiencing food shortages in utero or during childhood development can affect menarcheal timing, but this national effect may be buffered in local agrarian regions growing their own food. Here we examine patterns of age at menarche over time in the rural, agrarian Beskid Wyspowy region of southern Poland. Methods This study examined menarcheal timing using data collected from Polish women (n = 1326) recruited at the Mogielica Human Ecology Study Site between 2003 and 2018. Simple linear regressions were used to assess changing ages at menarche over time. Comparisons between ages at menarche for women born before and after the fall of communism in 1989 were assessed via one‐way analysis of variance. Results Age at menarche has declined over time in the Beskid Wyspowy region of southern Poland from 1920 to 2000 (R2 = .08, P 
ISSN:1042-0533
1520-6300
DOI:10.1002/ajhb.23362