educated on the study to be carried out.
Also, informed consent was obtained from
all the girls and the school authorities before
the study was carried out.
Statistical Analysis:
Means, standard deviations and simple
percentage were determined. Z-score was
used to test for significance level, since the
sample size was large. In all cases a 5% level
of error was assumed and 95% level of
confidence accommodated with a critical
value of 1.96 on a two-tailed distribution or
a critical value of 1.64 on a one-tailed
distribution.
Results
There was a statistically significant lower
mean menarchial age in urban school girls
compared to the rural school girls (Z-score
=10.22, Table 1). In both urban and rural
areas, school girls from high socio-economic
class had significantly lower mean
menarchial age compared to their
counterparts from low socio-economic class
(Z score = 13.89 and 7.68, respectively, Table
2). In the rural area, school girls involved in
vigorous sport activity had a higher age of
menarche compared to girls in non-sporting
activity (Z = 9.75, Table 3)
Table 1: Mean menarchial age in urban and rural secondary school girls
Urban |
Rural |
Z = score | |
Menarchial age (years) |
13.19 ± 1.32 |
14.22 ± 1.47 |
10.22* |
Values are mean ± S D; *Statistically significant
Table 2: Mean menarchial age (years) of high, middle and low socio-economic class school
girls in the urban and rural areas
High |
Middle |
Low |
High Vs Low Z - |
Middle Vs Low Z - | |
Urban area |
13.06±1.35 |
13.08±1.27 |
13.70±1.18 (n =51) |
18.89* |
7.29* |
Rural area |
13.98±1.46 (n=61) |
14.10±1.59 |
14.38±1.42 |
7.68* |
-1.54NS |
Values are Mean ± SD; *Significant; NS = Not significant
Table 3: Relationship between menarchial age (years) and sporting activity
_________Sporting_________ |
______Non- sporting______ |
Z-score | |
Urban |
13.10 ± 1.27 (n = 284) |
12.98 ± 1.40 (n = 224) |
-1.12 Ns |
Rural |
14.61 ± 1.34 (n = 211) |
14.09 ± 1.57 (n = 140) |
____________9.75*____________ |
Values are Mean ± SD
Discussion
Data from the present study shows a
statistically significant lower mean
menarchial age (13.89 ± 1.37 years) for urban
secondary school girls than the mean value
for the rural school girls (14.22 ± 1.47 years).
This is consistent with the observation of Lin
et al7, that urban Chinese girls had a lower
menarchial age than their rural
counterparts. A number of factors may have
contributed to this difference. Socio-
economic factor was investigated in this
study and it was observed that school girls
from a high socio-economic class had a
statistically significant lower mean age of
menarche compared to those in low Socio-
economic class. Ikechebelu8 had earlier
noted lower age of menarche in girls of high
socio-economic status than those of low
socio-economic class. It seems that the socio-
economic status affects menarchial age, and
this may account for the significant
difference in menarchial age between urban
and rural school girls, since 56.6% (133) of
the rural school girls were within the low
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