Menarcheal age in Cumbria

A survey of age at menarche in north-west England, how it is affected by family environment and how it affects physique, was carried out on a large sample of schoolgirls in Cumbria. Age at menarche shows no independent effect of social class, but is strongly influenced by family size and also partly by position in family. Similar results emerge from analyses of the status quo and recall data. Menarcheal status differences remain associated with pronounced differences in height and weight when all other variables are held constant, and there is a slight suggestion that the effect diminishes the later the age at which menarche occurs.