The study of puberty age and its effective factors on first and second grade high school girls in Darrehshahr, Ilam, in 2016

Background and objective: The puberty period is one of the most important periods of human life. Considering the role of different factors in the onset and its progression and in order to determine the mean age of puberty, this research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the age of puberty and its effective factors in girls in the first and second grades of high school in Darrehshahr in 2016. Materials and methods:This is a descriptive-analytic study. The statistical population consisted of all girl students of first and second grades in Darrehshahr high school in the academic year of 2016. The entry criteria included all girls in the first and second grades of secondary schools in Darrehshahr who were willing to participate in the study. Girls with diseases affecting puberty and taking medication with puberty have been excluded from the study. Finally, 300 students of first and second grade secondary schools were selected and studied as a statistical sample. The data gathering tool is a Tanner maturity checklist to determine the stage of puberty and a researcher-made questionnaire that has been compiled in two parts of the demographic information and medical history. Validity of the questionnaire was determined by content validity method and its reliability was obtained using Cronbach s alpha coefficient of 0.85. Data was analyzed by SPSS-24 software. Pearson, Spearman and linear regression tests were used to test the hypotheses. Findings: The mean age of puberty was 12.27 years. There was a significant correlation between BMI (P = 0.001), nutrition (P = 0.001), maternal maturity (P = 0.001), and age of puberty, but there was not a meaningful relationship between the economic status, physical activity and the age of puberty. Conclusion: The results of our study indicated that body mass index, nutrition, and maturity of the mother as factors affecting the age of puberty of girls in the first and second grades of secondary education. Therefore, it is recommended that health education instructors present the impact of these factors in their training programs.