Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT2082

Background: Menarche is influenced by various factors, including body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA). This study aims to compare menarche, BMI, and PA among female students in regular and boarding schools to identify potential differences in these variables.

Methods: A total of 190 female students participated in this study—63 from a regular school and 127 from a boarding school. Data on BMI, menarche, and PA levels were collected. Normality tests indicated that BMI and menarche data were not normally distributed (p < 0.05); therefore, Spearman’s rank correlation was used for analysis. The Mann-Whitney test was conducted to compare BMI, menarche, and PA levels between school environments.

Results: The findings revealed a significant correlation between BMI and menarche (P = 0.012, r = -0.182), indicating that students with higher BMI tend to experience earlier menarche. However, no significant correlation was found between PA and menarche (P = 0.361, r = 0.067). Additionally, there was a statistically significant difference in menarche (P = 0.010) and BMI (P = 0.004) between regular and boarding school students. Boarding school students exhibited a higher BMI and experienced menarche at an older age. No significant differ was found in PA levels between the two groups (P = 0.181).

Conclusion: The study highlights a significant relationship between BMI and menarche, with a higher BMI being associated with earlier puberty onset. Boarding school students had higher BMI and later menarche compared to regular school students. However, PA levels did not significantly differ between the two groups or influence menarche. These findings suggest that BMI plays a more substantial role in determining menarche timing than PA.