Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT2774

Aim: Patients who begin menarche between the ages of 9.5 and 11 do not initiate treatment. It is acknowledged that early menarche may adversely impact height. The onset of menarche at an early age affects the menstrual cycle, induces psychological repercussions in individuals, and leads to menstrual irregularities. Our study investigated the adverse impacts of early menarche on the menstrual cycle, psychological health, and final height.

Methods: This retrospective analysis involved children aged 9.5 to 11 years who consulted the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic for menarche from January 2012 to January 2018. The target height (TH) was determined from the patients’ outpatient clinic assessment files, utilizing medical records at the beginning of treatment. The final height (FH) and weight of the patients were documented via a questionnaire. The TH and FAH of girls were compared across groups. We performed a paired t-test to assess the difference between TH and FAH. The study examined menstrual patterns, menstrual cycles, dysmenorrhea, duration of menstrual regularity, and a history of psychiatric disorders required pharmacological treatment.

Results: The patients’ TH was 159.27±4.52cm, FAH was 157.71±5.19cm, target height SDS was 0.64±0.76, and final height SDS was 0.81±0.91. It was observed that 6 of the 11 patients who gained more than -1 SDS compared to the target height were accompanied by chronic disease, and those who gained more than +1 SDS compared to the target height were not accompanied by chronic disease(P = 0.014). Ten patients (17.2%) used medication due to asthma, and 9 patients (15.5%)used medication due to menstrual irregularity. Painful menarche was found in 50% of the patients (n = 26). Early menarche was present in the families of 24.1% of the patients (n = 14). Psychiatric disorders were observed in 22.4% (n = 13) of early menarche cases. 15.5% (n = 9) of the patients were receiving medication for psychiatric illness. The average duration of menstruation was 6.13±2.11 days, the need for pads was 3.74±0.82 pieces/day, and the time to regularization was 9.18±9.95 months.

Conclusion: Though some studies assert that early menarche negatively impacts height, our research revealed no detrimental influence of early menarche on final height. The concurrent chronic disease negatively affected growth, leading to a -1 SDS deviation from the target height. The correlation between asthma and early menarche was significant. The requirement for psychiatric treatment increased far above population averages. We claim that the existence of a comorbid condition adversely impacts growth, regardless of whether early menarche has a definitive influence.