Menstrual cycles in women are getting earlier and earlier, is it something to worry about?

Menstrual cycles are increasingly early and irregular

The findings also show that many girls and young women are experiencing irregular menstrual cycles for many years, a risk factor for many health problems, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases such as diabetes and some types of cancer.

The data was collected as part of the Apple Women's Health Study, developed by the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health. Chan in collaboration with the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Apple.

The age at which girls start menstruating is getting younger and younger.

The study used cycle tracking data from iPhones and Apple watches, as well as surveys to learn more about menstrual cycles, health risks and gynecological conditions. These findings may not be representative of the entire US population.

But the findings, published in JAMA Network Open, mirror other research, including a study of menstrual age trends in white and black women in the US over 50 years, based on Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a government report on health trends.

New research in JAMA shows that the average age of first menstruation among Apple users dropped to 11.9 years in those born between 2000 and 2005, compared with 12.5 years in those born between 2000 and 2005. 1950 to 1969.

Participants who self-identified as Asian, not Black Hispanic or multiracial, consistently reported an earlier mean age of first menarche than white participants.

The data is important, researchers say, because Hispanic and Asian groups have not been well studied in previous research on age at first menarche. The study also focused on the new concept of "vital signs" - the time between first menstruation and regular menstrual cycles.

Having your period early leads to many health risks

Zifan Wang, who led the study and is a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan, said: "We found that children had a longer period of time for their periods to become regular. This is also very worrying because irregular periods are an important indicator of adverse events. health benefits later. This is a warning sign. We need to consult and intervene earlier about irregular periods in children and adolescents."

The data also shows that the proportion of girls who started menstruation before age 11, or had menstruation very early before age 9, is mostly in the group with a recent birth year, compared to the group born in the past.

Shruthi Mahalingaiah, one of the study's authors and assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women's health at the Harvard T.H. Chan, said girls who start menstruating at a very young age face more difficult health problems later in life.

Mahalingaiah emphasized that early manifestations can be indicators of future health conditions, thereby helping doctors make decisions about care. She notes that a healthy diet, exercise and adequate sleep are important for girls of all ages.

"I'm going to bring it back up to awareness and education, so parents and health providers are aware," she said. "We need to look at health promotion factors that we can implement. , to influence not only the age at menarche but also the time it takes to have a regular cycle."

What happen?

According to researchers, childhood obesity is a risk factor for early puberty and appears to be a contributing factor to this trend. But the earlier age at first menarche appeared even before obesity, suggesting that other factors are at play.

A major concern is "forever chemicals," with nearly 15,000 man-made chemicals used in a variety of consumer products and found in many food and water sources. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals, as well as heavy metals and air pollutants, may all play a role in precocious puberty.

And more importantly, poor diet including eating lots of sugary foods, stress and adverse childhood experiences can also affect puberty.