Relationships among Self-Rated Tanner Staging, Hormones, and Psychosocial Factors in Healthy Female Adolescents

Rapkin, Andrea J.; Tsao, Jennie C.I.; Turk, Norman; Anderson, Martin; Zeltzer, Lonnie K.

doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2006.02.004

« Previous Next »Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
Volume 19, Issue 3 , Pages 181-187, June 2006

Relationships among Self-Rated Tanner Staging, Hormones, and Psychosocial Factors in Healthy Female Adolescents

Andrea J. Rapkin, MD
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Address correspondence to: Andrea J. Rapkin, MD, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Room 27-139 CHS, Los Angeles, California 90095-1740
Jennie C.I. Tsao, PhD
- Pediatric Pain Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, California, USA
Norman Turk, MS
- Pediatric Pain Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, California, USA
Martin Anderson, MD
- Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
Lonnie K. Zeltzer, MD
- Pediatric Pain Program, Departments of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, California, USA

Abstract

Study Objective

Females are more likely than males to suffer from various mood and pain disorders. However, this female predominance does not appear to develop until puberty. The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations among hormone concentrations, self-rated Tanner staging and dysmenorrhea, and to determine whether various psychosocial factors modulate these relationships.

Design

As part of a larger prospective study of the influence of puberty on laboratory pain response, Tanner ratings, estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone concentrations, dysmenorrhea and psychosocial parameters including depression, anxiety, somatization, and socioeconomic status were observed.

Participants

124 healthy girls ages 8 to 18 were evaluated.

Main Outcome Measure

There were significant correlations between pubertal status utilizing self-rated diagrams of Tanner stage and hormonal markers of pubertal development, specifically estradiol and FSH. Tanner stage but not estradiol was correlated with presence of dysmenorrhea. There was no effect of body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic status (SES), anxiety, depression, or somatization on presence or absence of painful menses. There was no correlation between BMI or SES and age of menarche. However, Tanner stage was correlated with BMI but not with SES.

Results and Conclusions

Tanner self-staging is at least as accurate as estradiol and FSH measurements alone in evaluating healthy female adolescents' physical changes and menstrual pain. Tanner self-ratings are thus particularly useful in large, epidemiologic, or cross cultural studies where physical examination and blood sampling may not be feasible due to cost, access, or psychosocial barriers.

Key Words: Puberty, Tanner stage, Hormones, Dysmenorrhea