Researchers from, among others, the University of Gothenburg have followed how nearly 800 women grew after their first menstruation. The girls, who on average got their period when they were 13 years old, showed growth ranging from 0.2 to 31.1 centimeters.
"The variations depend very much on when you get your period. There is a huge difference between those who get their period early and those who get it later," says Jenni Gårdstedt Berghog, a doctor at the women's clinic at Halland Hospital in Halmstad and one of the researchers behind the study, in a press release.
The girls in the study who got their period before the age of 12 grew almost 13 centimeters on average after that. Those who got their first period after the age of 14 grew around 3 centimeters.
The study also confirms that the BMI you have in childhood plays a role. Having a high BMI, which drives growth, often leads to an earlier menarche – and a shorter final height. The researchers note that this applies at the group level and that there is a lot of individual variation.
The study is published in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics.
