Age at Onset of Menarche and Puberty of Girls in Aydin Region and the Factors Affecting Them

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we aimed to determine the range of mean age at onset of menarche (AOM) and puberty (AOP) of girls living in Aydin province and to determine the factors affecting the onset age of menarche. METHODS: A total of 1891 girls aged between 8 and 16 years attending primary, secondary and high schools in Aydin province were planned to be included in the study. A questionnaire that was prepared in line with the literature was delivered to the parents in a closed envelope. The subjects who accepted to participate in the study were examined by an experienced physician by measuring height and weight and pubertal status was defined according to Tanner scale. BMI values were calculated. RESULTS: In total, 1520 female students were accepted to the study with the permission of their families. The mean AOM of participants was 12.11±1.32 years. The mean AOM was 13.12±1.46 years for their mothers, and 12.73±1.25 years for their sisters. June was the month that menarche occurred most frequently. We observed that the children living in rural areas had an earlier age of menarche. The mean age at onset of puberty was 9.71±1.46 years. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our study is important in terms of being the first study conducted in Aydin province that determined the mean AOM and AOP of girls aged between 8 and 16. In our study, we showed that the age of menarche shifted to an early age, while the age of puberty did not shift. The age at onset of menarche and puberty were similar to the results obtained in other studies conducted in neighboring regions. We believe that larger scale studies may contribute to assess the actual mean age at menarche of girls living in Turkey.

Decline in the Age of Menarche in Istanbul Schoolgirls Over the Last 12 Years

“…Previous studies reporting AAM in the various regions of Turkey also showed an ongoing decline in the menarcheal age since 1970s ( Figure 2 ) ( 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ).…”

“…A similar discrepancy in the effect of parental education on AAM was also observed in studies from Turkey. Ataş Aslan and Ünüvar et al ( 17 ) found that LES was associated with earlier menarcheal age but this was not supported by Ersoy et al ( 14 ). We have found that higher maternal education was associated with earlier onset of menarche, as shown in some previous studies ( 23 , 26 ).…”

“…The AAM was found to be 12.74 years in 2011 by Atay et al ( 10 ) in 1732 girls attending schools at the same region of İstanbul. Not only in İstanbul, in which resides almost 18% of Turkey’s population ( 18 ), but sequential studies in Turkey indicate a decline in AAM of 0.91 years in the last half-century -a speed of -0.56 years per generation of 30 years ( 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ).…”

“… Schematic representation of previous studies determining AAM in Turkey by years ( 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ) …”

Examining the Severity of Primary Dysmenorrhea Pain among Middle Adolescent Students Enrolled at SMA Negeri 5 Surakarta.

“…It indicated that most of them were within the range of regular menarche age. According to previous research, most females experienced menarche between 10 and 14 years old (Ravi et al, 2020;Aslan and Ünüvar, 2021;Nuraida et al, 2023).…”