A recent study found that girls are starting menstruation earlier and experiencing more irregular cycles, which could be influenced by factors like obesity and environmental chemicals. Menstrual periods may be starting earlier in younger generations, according to new research. The was published on Wednesday in the scientific journal JAMA Network Open and based on data from the , which involved 71,341 women.
Researchers in the US found that the average age at which girls begin menstruating has decreased from 12.5 years for those born between 1950 and 1969 to 11.9 years for those born between 2000 and 2005.
There has also been an increase in the time it takes for menstrual cycles to become regular after menarche (the first menstrual cycle), with fewer girls achieving regularity within two years and more taking three to four years or never achieving regularity. The study also found that Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial girls reported earlier average ages of first menstruation compared to girls who were White. “Early menarche is associated with higher risk of adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer,” Zifan Wang, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard’s T.
H. Chan School of Public Health and corresponding author of the study, said in a statement. “To address these health concerns - which our findings suggest may begin to impact more people, with disproportionate impact on already disadvantaged populations - we need much more investment i.