Menstrual cycle is normal physiological phenomenon in females which is also a marker of reproductive functions. It is influenced by number of factors but body fat has observable impact on it. Women with low body mass index (BMI) have irregular and long cycles, infertility problems, and often have a delayed age of menarche. In this context the present study was carried out to evaluate any possible association between body fat and menstrual cycle abnormalities. Study group comprises of 260 healthy female medical students of age 18 to 25yrs. Menstrual history was obtained, its cyclicity was recorded as short (<25 days), long (>35 days), and normal (26–34 days) cycles. BMI was calculated and subjects were divided into underweight (BMI <18.5) and normal weight (BMI between 18.5 to 24.9). On analysis prevalence of cycle irregularities was more (54%) in underweight girls which is statistically significant (chi square value 53.09, p= <0.0001). A significant (p=<0.001) difference between cycle duration and BMI was observed for longer cycles. However no significant relationship (p=>0.05) was observed for age of menarche (13.58±0.97 vs 13.67 ± 0.87) and BMI.
Our finding suggests a significant positive association of menstrual cyclicity with body mass index (BMI). This may attributed to low sex hormones synthesis and storage in the body fat layers of low BMI girls.
Body Fat, BMI, Menstrual Cycle, Menstrual Cycle Irregularities
