determination of age at menarche and its association with socio-economic status and physical activity: a study among tibetan adolescent girls of kangra district, himachal pradesh, india

Background: Age at menarche (AAM) marks the formal beginning of sexual maturation in girls. Present study focuses on determining the AAM among Tibetan girls and its association with socio-economic status (SES) and physical activity level. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 276 Tibetan adolescent girls (13 to 18 years) in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Data was collected using a proforma, consisting of questions regarding socio-demographic profile, AAM and physical activity level (PAQ-A). Data was entered in MS-Excel and analyzed in SPSS 20.0. Results: Early menarche was observed in majority of girls with most frequent AAM as 13 years for the sample. A significant difference of AAM categories was found with SES and level of physical activity. Conclusion: Girls who were in better socio-economic category and were physically more active attained menarche at an earlier age in comparison to others.