Rural–urban variations in age at menarche, adult height, leg-length and abdominal adiposity in black South African women in transitioning South Africa

Rihlat Said-Mohamed*, Alessandra Prioreschi, Lukhanyo H. Nyati, Alastair van Heerden, Richard J. Munthali, Kathleen Kahn, Stephen M. Tollman, Francesc Xavier Gómez-Olivé, Brian Houle, David B. Dunger, Shane A. Norris

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    23 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background: The pre-pubertal socioeconomic environment may be an important determinant of age at menarche, adult height, body proportions and adiposity: traits closely linked to adolescent and adult health. Aims: This study explored differences in age at menarche, adult height, relative leg-length and waist circumference between rural and urban black South African young adult women, who are at different stages of the nutrition and epidemiologic transitions. Subjects and methods: We compared 18–23 year-old black South African women, 482 urban-dwelling from Soweto and 509 from the rural Mpumalanga province. Age at menarche, obstetric history and household socio-demographic and economic information were recorded using interview-administered questionnaires. Height, sitting-height, hip and waist circumference were measured using standardised techniques. Results: Urban and rural black South African women differed in their age at menarche (at ages 12.7 and 14.5 years, respectively). In urban women, a one-year increase in age at menarche was associated with a 0.65 cm and 0.16% increase in height and relative leg-length ratio, respectively. In both settings, earlier age at menarche and shorter relative leg-length were independently associated with an increase in waist circumference. Conclusions: In black South African women, the earlier onset of puberty, and consequently an earlier growth cessation process, may lead to central fat mass accumulation in adulthood.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)123-132
    Number of pages10
    JournalAnnals of Human Biology
    Volume45
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 17 Feb 2018

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