Start of puberty in girls residing in urban and rural areas

Abstract

The article presents a comparative assessment of puberty in schoolgirls from urban and rural areas. Sexual development of contemporary schoolgirls has a number of peculiarities. Its advanced development has been registered in girls from urban areas in comparison with agematched girls from a rural locality. Disturbances in the order of priority in regard to the occurrence of secondary sexual characteristics, the so-called inverted puberty, have been found in 9.5 % of town-dwellers and significantly less frequent in the residents of rural areas (6.8 %). The average age of menarche remains stable; however, early menarche (in girls under 11) has been revealed in 3.7 % of urban adolescents and significantly less frequent (1.3 %) in girls from the rural area. Late menarche (in girls over 15) has been revealed more frequently in schoolgirls from the countryside (5.0 % vs. 1. 7 %). Various menstrual function disorders have been found in 22.5 % of town-dwellers and 38.6 % of girls from a rural locality. Prophylactic and curative measures aimed at preserving the reproductive potential of the current generation should be carried out as early as possible to prevent the development of more serious disorders.