Age of Onset of Puberty in Apparently Healthy School Girls from Northern India.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the age of pubertal onset and menarche in school-going girls, and to assess the impact of obesity on pubertal timing. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Seven schools across Delhi, India. PARTICIPANTS: 2010 school girls, aged 6-17 years. METHODS: Anthropometric measurement and pubertal staging was performed for all subjects. Menarche was recorded by status quo method. Body mass index was used to define overweight/obesity. Serum gonadotropins and serum estradiol were measured in every sixth participant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age at thelarche and menarche analyzed for entire cohort and stratified based on body mass index. RESULTS: Median (95% CI) ages of thelarche, pubarche and menarche were 10.8 (10.7-10.9) y, 11.0. y (10.8-11.2) y and 12.4 y (12.2-12.5) y. Overweight/obese girls showed six months earlier onset of thelarche and menarche than those with normal BMI (P<0.05). Serum gonadotropins did not vary significantly in overweight/obese subjects. CONCLUSION: The study provides the normative data for pubertal growth in Indian girls. Pubertal onset occurs earlier in overweight and obese girls.