Document Type : Original Article(s)
Authors
1
Associated Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan
2
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord
3
Pediatrician, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord
Abstract
Background:
Considering different effective factors in age of menarche in different geographical areas and the necessity of determining a reliable and up-to - date reference in this field, the aim of this study was to determine the mean age of menarche in 11 - 18 years old school-girls of Shahrekord.
Methods:
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 778 school girls aged 11 - 18 years of Shahrekord which were selected by clustering method among 8163 students. Data was collected using a questionnaire about demographic characteristics, age of menarche, weight of birth, and socioeconomic and family educational status.
Findings:
From 778 students, menarche was occurred in 351 (45.12%). The mean age of menarche was 12.7 ± 15 years and lowest and highest ages of menarche were 8 years and 2 months and 15 years and 5 months, respectively. Age of precoious and delayed menarche was 10 years and 5 months (in 1.99%) and 15 years (in 4.5%), respectively. There was not any significant relationship between age of menarche and weight of birth but there was a significant relationship for mothers’ carrier, families’ socioeconomic condition, and dimension of the families.
Conclusion:
Likewise other parts of Iran, a reduction in the mean age of menarche was found in Shahrekord, too; which was due to improvement of socioeconomic, nutritional and health condition. However the findings of this study could be considered as a reference for future studies in this field and for assessment of menarche age variation trends in this region.
Key words:Menarche age, School-girls, Shahrekord, Mean.
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