Table 2.
Relation of Menarcheal Age to Adult Levels of Various Characteristics
| Menarcheal Age (y) | Correlation with Menarcheal Agea | |||
| < 12 | 12–13.4 | ≥ 13.5 | ||
| Whites | ||||
| N | 194 | 364 | 213 | |
| Weight (kg) | 73.2b | 64.8 | 64.1 | -0.21* |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 27.6 | 24.4 | 23.9 | -0.24* |
| BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (%) | 32% | 16% | 11% | |
| Triceps skinfold thickness (mm) | 28 | 24 | 23 | -0.21* |
| Subscapular Skinfold (mm) | 25 | 20 | 20 | -0.21* |
| Subscapular / Triceps | 0.92 | 0.84 | 0.85 | -0.09* (0.02)c |
| Height (cm) | 163 | 163 | 164 | 0.05 |
| Blacks | ||||
| N | 121 | 174 | 113 | |
| Weight (kg) | 80.6 | 71.2 | 69.4 | -0.21* |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 30.3 | 26.9 | 26.1 | -0.23* |
| BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (%) | 42% | 26% | 23% | |
| Triceps skinfold thickness (mm) | 29 | 24 | 22 | -0.22* |
| Subscapular Skinfold (mm) | 28 | 24 | 22 | -0.24* |
| Subscapular / Triceps | 1.00 | 1.03 | 0.97 | -0.07 (-0.03)c |
| Height (cm) | 163 | 163 | 163 | 0.05 |
a Age-adjusted Spearman correlation coefficients; b Mean levels have been adjusted for the difference in examination ages across the 3 groups using linear regression; c Correlations in parentheses have been adjusted for both age and adult BMI. H0: Spearman correlation = 0: *p < 0.001