Romana Pawlińska-Chmara

Menarcheal age and socio-economic factors in Poland.

Background: Menarcheal age is the most important measure of sexual maturation in girls and a sensitive indicator of environmental conditions during childhood. Objective: The study analysed the association between age at menarche and socio-economic characteristics (urbanization, population size, education of parents and number of children in the family). Subjects and methods: Questionnaire data were collected from 3271 female schoolchildren born between 1981 and 1984, living in three provinces of southern Poland. Menarcheal age was estimated by the recall method and based on the date of menarche given by the study participants. ANCOVA and multiple regression analyses were applied to test statistical significance of differences between groups. Results: Girls from families with high socio-economic status experience menarche at an earlier age than girls from families with lower socio-economic status. However, depending on the geographical region and the population size, other factors influence menarcheal age. In the Krakow province, factors that significantly differentiate age at menarche are urbanization, fathers education and number of children in the family; in the Opole province, these factors include urbanization and number of children in the family, while in the Nowy Sacz province, number of children in the family is significant. Conclusions: Socio-economic differences are greater in a large urban city (Krakow), and affect variation in age at menarche. However, within smaller populations (Opole, Nowy Sacz) living in towns and villages, the difference in age at menarche is less visible. In addition, variation between areas reveals a lower age at menarche in urban as compared with non-urban areas. Résumé. Arrière plan: L’âge aux premières règles est une mesure importante de la maturation sexuelle des filles ainsi qu’un indicateur sensible des conditions du milieu au cours de l’enfance. Objectif: Cette étude analyse l’association entre âge aux premières règles et facteurs socio-économiques (urbanisation, taille de la population, éducation parentale et nombre d’enfants dans la famille). Sujets et méthodes: Des données par questionnaire ont été rassemblées sur 3271 écoliers habitant dans trois provinces du sud de la Pologne, nés entre 1981 et 1984. L’âge aux premières règles a été estimé par la méthode de mémorisation. Des analyses de régression multiple et de covariance (ANCOVA) ont été effectuées afin d’évaluer la signification statistique des différences entre groupes. Résultats: Les filles de familles à statut socio-économique élevé sont plus précoces que celles de statut socio-économique défavorable, mais suivant la région et la dimension de la population, d’autres facteurs influencent l’âge aux premières règles. Dans la province de Cracovie, l’urbanisation, l’éducation du père et le nombre d’enfants dans la famille jouent un rôle significatif. Dans la province d’Opole, ce sont l’urbanisation, l’éducation du père et le nombre d’enfants dans la famille qui interviennent, alors que dans la province de Nowi Sacz, est significatif le nombre d’enfants dans la famille. Conclusions: Les différences socio-économiques sont plus significatives dans une grande ville (Cracovie), alors que dans les ensembles populationnels plus restreints (Opole, Nowy Sacz), elles sont de moindre importance. Par ailleurs, la variation entre régions révèle un âge aux premières règles plus précoce chez les filles urbaines que chez les rurales. Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Das Menarchealter ist das wichtigste Maß für die sexuelle Reife bei Mädchen und ein empfindlicher Indikator für Umweltbedingungen während der Kindheit. Ziel: Die Studie analysierte die Beziehung zwischen Menarchealter und sozio-ökonomischen Kennzeichen (Urbanisation, Populationsgröße, Schulbildung der Eltern und Anzahl der Kinder pro Familie). Probanden und Methoden: Mittels Fragebögen wurden Daten von 3271 Schülerinnen, geboren zwischen 1981 und 1984, aus drei Provinzen Südpolens erhoben. Das Menarchealter wurde retrospektiv erfragt und basiert auf Angaben zur Menarche von den Studienteilnehmerinnen. Es wurden ANCOVA und multiple Regressionsanalysen verwendet, um Unterschiede zwischen den Gruppen auf statistische Signifikanz zu testen. Ergebnisse: Mädchen aus Familien der oberen sozio-ökonomischen Schicht menstruieren früher als Mädchen aus Familien niederer sozio-ökonomischer Schichten. Je nach geographischer Region und Populationsgröße gibt es jedoch noch weitere Faktoren, die das Menarchealter beeinflussten. Faktoren, die in der Provinz Krakau signifikanten Einfluss auf das Menarchealter zeigen, sind Urbanisationsgrad, Schulbildung des Vaters und Anzahl der Kinder in der Familie; in der Provinz Oppeln beinhalten diese Faktoren den Urbanisationsgrad und die Anzahl der Kinder in der Familie, während in der Provinz Novy Sacz nur die Anzahl der Kinder in der Familie Signifikanzniveau erreichen. Zusammenfassung: Sozio-ökonomische Unterschiede sind in einer Großstadt (Krakau) größer und nehmen Einfluss auf die Variation des Menarchealters. In den weniger umfangreichen Populationen (Oppeln, Novy Sacz) aus kleineren Städten und Dörfern ist dagegen der Unterschied im Menarchealter weniger offensichtlich. Darüber hinaus zeigt die Variation zwischen Regionen, dass das Menarchealter in städtischen Gegenden niedriger ist als in ländlichen. Resumen. Antecedentes: La edad de menarquia es la medida más importante de la maduración sexual en chicas y un sensible indicador de las condiciones ambientales durante la infancia. Objetivo: El estudio analizó la asociación entre la edad de menarquia y características socioeconómicas (urbanización, tamaño poblacional, educación de los padres y número de hijos en la familia). Sujetos y métodos: Los datos del cuestionario se recogieron en 3271 niñas escolares nacidas entre 1981 y 1984, que residían en tres provincias del sur de Polonia. La edad de menarquia se estimó por el método retrospectivo y se basó en la fecha de menarquia proporcionada por las participantes en el estudio. Se aplicaron los análisis ANCOVA y de regresión múltiple para comprobar la significación estadística de las diferencias entre grupos. Resultados: Las chicas de familias con un nivel socioeconómico elevado experimentan la menarquia a una edad más temprana que las de familias con un nivel socioeconómico bajo. Sin embargo, dependiendo de la región geográfica y del tamaño poblacional, existen otros factores que influyen sobre la edad de menarquia. En la provincia de Cracovia, los factores que producen diferencias significativas en la edad de menarquia son la urbanización, la educación del padre y el número de hijos en la familia; en la provincia de Opole, estos factores incluyen la urbanización y el número de hijos de la familia, mientras que en la provincia de Nowy Sacz, es significativo el número de hijos por familia. Conclusiones: Las diferencias socioeconómicas son mayores en una gran urbe (Cracovia) y afectan a la variación en la edad de menarquia. Sin embargo, dentro de poblaciones más pequeñas (Opole, Nowy Sacz), viviendo en pueblos y aldeas, la diferencia en la edad de menarquia es menos evidente. Además, la variación entre áreas revela una menor edad de menarquia en el medio urbano comparado con las áreas no urbanas.

Body mass index, waist to hip ratio and waist/height in adult Polish women in relation to their education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol consumption.

Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disorder that develops from genotype and environmental interactions. The aim of this study is to describe the variability of body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist to height (W/Ht) in adult Polish women, and to determine relationships between these variables and factors such as education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol drinking. The tested group consisted of 10,254 women aged 25-95 years, who voluntarily filled in questionnaires and participated in anthropometric measurements (body height and mass, waist and hip circumferences). The BMI, WHR and W/Ht values were calculated based on these measurements. The participants were differentiated in terms of education, residence and lifestyle (smoking, alcohol drinking). Chi-squared test, product-moment correlations, ANOVA, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and logistic regression with backward elimination were used to evaluate associations between social and lifestyle factors and BMI, WHR and W/Ht. The results confirm (1) the relationship between low social status and the risk of overweight and obesity as observed in developed countries; (2) higher susceptibility to environmental factors such as education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol drinking in younger (premenopausal) women; (3) the usefulness of simple and practical anthropometric indicators such as WHR and W/Ht for the identification of the higher risk of future metabolic diseases in obese people and those with a normal body mass.

Socioeconomic determinants of underweight and overweight in female Polish students in 2009.

THE AIM to determine whether socio-economic status has an effect on the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity in young women. METHODS The sample included 1129 female students aged 20-24 years from the south of Poland. BMI was calculated from measured weight/height and SES was assessed based on information received from surveyed women. RESULTS 11.1% of the surveyed students were classified as underweight, 6.5 % as overweight and 0.5 % were obese. The risk of underweight increased together with the increasing level of parents education, it was also higher among women who prior to studying had lived in a town/city rather than in a village. In the case of a self-rated financial situation, a negative relationship was observed. For students who rated their situation as very good or good, the risk of underweight was lower than in students who evaluated their situation as average or below average. No significant relationship between the socioeconomic factors and the risk of overweight was found. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that the prevalence of thinness was higher than the prevalence of overweight and obesity, especially in students from high status families.

Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Quality of Life in People Affected with Respiratory Allergy

In the present study we investigated the impact of respiratory allergy on quality of life in young people, and examined whether socio-economic status modifies the above dependence. The study was conducted in 458 female and 363 male university students, aged 18-25. Information on socio-economic status (SES) was collected using a questionnaire. The occurrence of allergy was determined on the basis of answers to the questions whether the allergy and specific allergens were medically diagnosed. Quality of life (QoL) was based on the Polish version of the SF-36 test. Respiratory allergy or respiratory and food allergy were declared by 19.2 % of women and 19.0 % of men. The prevalence of allergy was higher in students with high SES. The students suffering from allergy obtained lower scores in all domains of QoL, but the differences were statistically insignificant. However, the overall test result in allergic students was significantly lower than that in non-allergic students. Differences QoL were significantly associated with socio-economic variables. In persons with low SES, the differences in QoL between those suffering from allergy and those who did not have allergy were larger than in persons with high SES. The results indicate that the course of allergic diseases is highly dependent on socio-economic status. The prevalence of allergy among students of low status is lower than among those of high status. However, allergy to a greater extent impairs the quality of life of students with low than high SES.

Nutritional habits of female university students in relation to selfperception of body

Summary Study aim: To determine whether the self-assessment of body mass has an impact on the nutritional behaviour of young women. Material and methods: The material was gathered in cross-sectional research of 1129 female university students. The measurements of body height, body mass, and waist and hip circumference were taken. Each person completed a questionnaire concerned the nutritional habits, recreational physical activity, and self-perception of body mass. In this work, only the data of 925 students with BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 were included. Results: Of the participants, 2.8% of the students assessed their body mass as too low, 75.4% as correct, and 21.8% as too high. Students assessing their body mass as too low featured the lowest values of BMI and waist circumference, whereas those with a body mass assessment of too high featured the highest values of BMI. Those students with a body mass assessment as too high followed a diet and skipped meals far more frequently, consumed breads and sweets far less frequently, and drank more liquids daily than students who assessed their body mass as correct. No differences were found in the frequency of recreational physical activity in relation to self-perception of body mass. Conclusions: BMI values above population average, even if they fit within the norm, are regarded by the students as too high. The self-assessment of body mass as too high results in undertaking efforts aimed at reducing body mass.