Abstract
Background:
Menarche age is an indicator of a girl’s puberty besides the clinical assessment of detecting deviations. This study aimed to search the pattern of menarche age (normal, early and late) and its relationship with some demographic characteristics in girls and their parents.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was done on girls aged between 9 and 18 years old in Shiraz city. About 2000 students were selected through cluster sampling. Data collection was done by applying a demographic information form. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results:
About 1386 students (69.3%) had the history of menarche (at least once). The mean age of menarche was 12.26±1.11 years in Shiraz. The menarche age of the girls ranged from 9 years (as the least) to 15 (as the maximum). The prevalence of late menarche was 1.1%. In addition, no early menarche was reported. There was no relationship between menarche age and economic status, birth order and number of children, but a significant relationship was found between the parents’ education, house status, and the lifestyle of parents.
Conclusion:
The mean menarche age has been decreasing in cities. Therefore, it seems necessary for the families to be aware about the influence of time, trend and affecting factors on menarche; this helps them to make good decisions when educating their teenagers.
Acknowledgments
The authors would also like to thank Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran and also Center for Development of Clinical Research of Nemazee Hospital and Dr. Nasrin Shokrpour for editorial assistance.
Research committee approval and financial support: This paper has been extracted from MSc thesis done by Naeemeh Tayebi, MSc student of nursing. The Vice chancellor of Research Affairs of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences financially supported the thesis with grant number 7173. The authors would like to thank Namazi Hospital for allowing the development of a clinical trials center and to Ms. Marzieh Khojastehfar for statistical analysis, the educational authorities, and students for their sincere cooperation.
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