Malnutrition, Menarche, and Marriage in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

A survey of 1, 155 girls aged 10 through 20 was conducted in a rural area of Bangladesh in March, 1976, to assess the impact of nutritional status on the onset of menarche and the association between age at menarche and age at marriage. In recent years there has been an increased age at onset of menarche which appears to have been associated with malnutrition caused by war, postwar inflation, floods, and famine in the period 1971–76. Body weight was highly correlated with the age of onset of menarche. A seasonal trend in onset of menarche was noted with the peak occurring in the winter months corresponding to the largest annual rice harvest. An increased age of marriage was also noted, which may be correlated with the increased age of menarche.