Endocrine Abstracts

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2006 among 3204 girls, aged 6 to 17, and living in Isfahan, Iran. Participants were selected by multistage random cluster probability-sampling. A pediatric endocrinologist determined Pubertal stages by inspection and palpation according to Marshall and Tanner staging. The self-reported information was collected for occurrence and age of menarche. The percentiles of different pubertal stages were computed.

Results: The mean (±S.D.) age of breast development, pubic hair growth and menarche were 10.46±1.37, 11.15±1.30 and 12.56±1.15 years, respectively.

Conclusion: We found higher age of different stages of puberty in Isfahan than in some Western countries, but our findings were similar to previous studies conducted in other cities in Iran.