The duration of puberty in girls is related to the timing of its onset,☆☆,

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Abstract

Objective: To observe the time lapse between the start of puberty and the advent of menarche in groups of girls maturing at different ages.

Subjects: A sample of 163 girls subgrouped by pubertal onset at 9 ( n = 22), 10 ( n = 53), 11 ( n = 54), 12 ( n = 27), and 13 ( n = 7) years of age.

Design: Clinical follow-up from 10 to 17 years of age.

Methods: Onset of puberty was defined by the combined observation of mammary development on the Tanner scale and the height curve. The date of menarche was recorded (month and year), and the time lapse was expressed as a function of the date of birth.

Results: In the overall study sample, the duration of puberty was 1.96 ± 0.06 years. For the subgroups of girls starting puberty at 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 years of age, the time lapse to menarche was 2.77 ± 0.16, 2.27 ± 0.16, 1.78 ± 0.08, 1.44 ± 0.10, and 0.65 ± 0.09 years, respectively ( p < 0.001). The correlation coefficient ( r ) between the onset of puberty and its duration was r = –0.62 ( p < 0.001), and that of age of pubertal onset versus age of menarche was r = 0.66 ( p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The duration of puberty in girls depends on the timing of its onset; the earlier the onset of puberty the longer its duration. (J Pediatr 1997;131:618-21)

Section snippets

Structure of the Study

The study began in 1987 and forms part of a larger investigation of growth and development during puberty. After the identification of the study subjects and obtaining their consent, as well as that of their parents or guardians, an annual clinic visit was scheduled for each girl in the month of her birthday, for girls of the ages of 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 17 years.

Variables Studied

At the clinic visit, the breast development stage of each girl on the Tanner scale 3 was evaluated by a single observer (C.

Pubertal Onset

The distribution of age of onset of puberty in the pubertal subgroups is presented in the Figure, in which Groups A, B, C, D, and E represent 13.5%, 32.5%, 33.1%, 16.6%, and 4.3%, respectively, of the total study sample.

Figure. Distributions of the age of onset of puberty and of age at menarche in the study sample.

The histogram in the Figure also shows the percentages of the study sample that reached menarche at the different ages: 5.8% between 10 and 11 years, 19.2% between 11 and 12 years,

Discussion

Based on published data demonstrating a wide variability in maturation rates in young girls, the present investigation was to follow the development of a large sample of girls who have a considerable degree of homogeneity with respect to their geographic, ethnic, dietary, and socioeconomic origins. So as to follow their development each year over several years and to minimize the effect of seasonal variation of the timing of menarche, 14 the subjects investigated were limited to a coherent

Acknowledgements

We thank the schoolchildren who participated in the study and their parents for their continued cooperation over the protracted period of the study, and Drs. Rosa Clivillé, Aurelia Moreno, and Joan Fernández-Ballart, who were involved in the original design of the study. Translation, editorial assistance, and orthography were by Dr. Peter R. Turner of SciMed Plus S.L. (Reus, Spain).

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  • Cited by (0)

    Dr. Vizmanos received a fellowship from Instituto DANONE (Spain).

    ☆☆

    Reprint requests: Carlos Martí-Henneberg, MD, PhD, Facultat de Medicina, C/ Sant Llorenç 21, 43201 Reus, Spain.

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