Socioeconomic factors influencing age at menarche in women born from 1985 to 1991

Background: The late 20th and early 21st centuries were a period of significant social and economic transformation in Poland. This makes research on this period extremely important for a better understanding of the impact of socio-economic factors on human biological development. Objective: This research aimed to evaluate socioeconomic differences in the age at menarche among young women born between 1985 and 1991. Subjects and methods: The study was cross-sectional and conducted in 2010 among 1,884 females aged 19–24 years. Age at menarche of participants and their mothers was obtained retrospectively. Socioeconomic factors included: mothers’ and fathers’ education levels, the urbanization level of respondents' place of residence, and the number of siblings. One-way ANOVA and stepwise regression were used. Results: One-way ANOVAs for each socioeconomic variable showed a significant effect on age at menarche (place of residence – F=10,693, p

Analysis of variance · Menarche · Population · Regression analysis · Residence · Socioeconomic status · Stepwise regression · Urbanization