Peter Helm

Length and variation in the menstrual cycle—a cross‐sectional study from a Danish county

Objective To investigate the current epidemiology of menstrual patters among women of fertile age.

Infertility and the seeking of infertility treatment in a representative population

Objective To investigate lifetime prevalence of infertility, the seeking of infertility treatment and outcomes of treatment.

Intraoperative surgical complication during cesarean section: an observational study of the incidence and risk factors

Background. The study was intended to estimate the incidence of intraoperative surgical complications with the impact of the educational level of the surgeon and a history of previous cesarean section on intraoperative complications at cesarean childbirth.

Secondary amenorrhoea: prevalence and medical contact—a cross–sectional study from a Danish county

Objective To examine the prevalence of secondary amenorrhoea and the patterns of seeking medical advice for secondary amenorrhoea in an unselected population.

A halt in the secular trend towards earlier menarche in Denmark

BACKGROUND A halt in the decrease of menarcheal age has been reported in some countries but has not been documented in Denmark. METHODS The entire population of schoolgirls, attending grades 5 through 10 (n=979), in a particular region of Denmark was investigated by the status quo method in 1996. Similar investigations had been made in the same region and by the same method in 1966 and 1983. Mean age and standard deviation were estimated by probit analysis. RESULT Mean age was 13.00 years (s.e.=0.080; s.d. = 1.15) and almost identical with the mean age in 1983 (13.03 years), but significantly different from the mean age in 1966 (13.40 years). CONCLUSION The results indicate a halt in the secular trend towards earlier menarche in the region at some time between 1966 and 1983.

RECALLED MENARCHE IN RELATION TO INFERTILITY AND ADULT WEIGHT AND HEIGHT

Background. Possible relationships between menarche and fertility and fecundity later in life have not been fully clarified.

DECREASE IN MENARCHEAL AGE FROM 1966 TO 1983 IN DENMARK

Abstract. Mean age at menarche was estimated by the status quo method in the same region of Denmark in 1965—66 and 1982‐83 in 983 and 1591 girls, respectively. During that period menarcheal age decreased by 4 months from 13.40 to 13.03 years, subsequent to a similar decrease from 1949‐50 (2) to 1965‐66. Comparison with recent data from the other Nordic countries; except Norway, indicates that age at menarche is now close to 13 years, and a halt in the trend towards earlier menarche is not evident.

PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE: THE INFLUENCE OF CONTRACEPTIVE, SEXUAL, AND SOCIAL LIFE EVENTS

In order to determine associations between pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and contraceptive, sexual, and social life events, 620 Danish women aged 15-54 were invited to participate in an in-depth interview. Of 585 participating women, 459 were consecutive gynecological in- or outpatients, and 126 were randomly selected from visitors in general practice. Data were analyzed by multivariate test statistics. The mean number of PIDs thereby retrospectively assessed was 1.0. Two-thirds had never had PID, one third had had on average 3 PIDs. The sexual parameter which had the highest predictive value for later PID was the coital debut. Women with coital debut before the 16th year had double the number of PIDs, as women with sexual debut at age 18 or later. Likewise, the mean coital frequency was positively correlated to the number of PIDs. The number of sexual partners, on the other hand, was merely a risk-indicator without a direct influence on PID. Women who used barrier methods (condom and/or diaphragm) for 2 years or more had 23% fewer PIDs than women who had used barrier methods for less than two years. The small number of PIDs among women at high socioeconomic levels could be explained alone by a later coital debut and longer use of barrier methods than that among women at low socioeconomic levels.

The relationship between menarche and sexual, contraceptive, and reproductive life events.

Relationships between menarche and sexual, contraceptive, and reproductive life events were investigated by structured interviews of 585 Danish women, aged 15-54 years. Data were analyzed by multivariate test statistics. The trend toward an earlier menarche was confirmed. No association was found between menarche and social class. Women with early menarche had an earlier coital debut. After correction for coital debut, no association was observed between menarche and coital frequency, number of sexual partners, or use of oral contraceptives. Menarche was not associated with number of births, spontaneous or induced abortions, or frequency of ectopic pregnancies. The results suggest that the predictive value of the menarche for sexual and contraceptive life events is conditioned primarily by the association between menarche and coital debut.

Uncertainties in designation of age at menarche in the nineteenth century: revised mean for Denmark, 1835.

The earliest Danish study of mean age at menarche by Ravn (Fenger 1850) is analysed with special reference to age recordings and their subsequent groupings into age-classes. Uncertainties of interpretation of the age designations are discussed, and it is argued that, in all probability, mean age at menarche was 17 years in the samples of Danish women born around 1820, rather than below 16 years as believed previously.