Assessment of age at menarche and menstrual pattern among secondary school girls in Awka, Southeast Nigeria

Background: Menarche is an important physiological milestone in girls and this usually occurs during their secondary school years. The menstrual pattern may vary in these adolescents. This knowledge may assist in counselling the young girls on reproductive health issues. Methods: A cross-sectional s...

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Published inInternational Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Vol. 10; no. 6; p. 2192
Main Authors Ezenyeaku, Cyril C, Ezebialu, Ifeanyichukwu U, Umeobika, Joseph C, Akabike, Josephat, Ezenyeaku, Chijioke A, Ojiyi, Chukwuemeka E, Okeke, Tochukwu C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology 01.06.2021
Subjects
Analysis
Computer industry
High schools
Menstruation
Physiological aspects
Reproductive health
Surveys
Nigeria
United States
India
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Summary:Background: Menarche is an important physiological milestone in girls and this usually occurs during their secondary school years. The menstrual pattern may vary in these adolescents. This knowledge may assist in counselling the young girls on reproductive health issues. Methods: A cross-sectional study of female secondary school students from Kenneth Dike secondary school, Awka; Amaenyi girls' secondary school and community secondary school, Okpuno, all in Awka, Anambra state of Nigeria. All together 545 students were selected following informed consent. The study instrument was a pre-tested, semistructured and self-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done with IBM SPSS 20 software. Tests of association between variables were done with Fisher's exact test and the level of significance set at p[less than or equal to]0.05. Results: The mean age of the 545 respondents was 16.79[+ or -]1.736 years and majority of them are of the Igbo ethnic group (90.5%). The average age at menarche was 12.77[+ or -]1.159 years. There is a significant difference between the age at menarche and the father's occupation. The modal duration of flow was 4 days (48.7%) while 95.2% had a normal cycle length of 21-35 days. Conclusions: The average age of menarche of secondary school girls in Awka was 12.77[+ or -]1.159 years. Most of the students had normal menstrual flow duration of 2-7 days with a cycle length of 21-35 days. Keywords: Age, Menarche, Menstrual pattern, School, Awka
ISSN:2320-1770
2320-1789
DOI:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20212146