Does passive smoking affect the reproductive period of a marginalised population living in hilly terrain: A study among the Hrusso females of Arunachal Pradesh
Author(s): John Basumatary* and Dhanmani Medhi
Abstract
Objective: This study aims to determine the reproductive span among the females. Furthermore, it also assesses the association of passive smoking with age at menarche. Material and methods: A total of 484 adult Hrusso females were assessed in the study. Retrospective method was used to collect the reproductive data. Data on passive smoking was taken using specific questionnaire with questions regarding number of smokers in the family and number of times getting the exposure in a day. Results: The mean age at menarche among the Hrusso girls is found to be 11.2 years. The variance among the four age cohorts across all the age at menarche categories is found to be statistically significant. The waist height ratio has shown that 45.55% females were at risk of cardio-metabolic syndrome which is not significant among the age cohorts. BMI and WHtR are found to be significant predictors of variability in age at menarche among the Russo girls. Conclusion: This study has shown that those with normal weight and no exposure to smoking are having a significantly late onset of menarche. It can also be said that passive smoking and high BMI also directly or indirectly are helping in having a longer reproductive period among the Hrussos.