Menarcheal age in Ghanaian school girls

In a cross-sectional retrospective study of 2087 Ghanaian school girls in various educational institutions in the Kumasi district, Ashanti region, Ghana, the mean menarcheal age was found to be 13.98 +/- 1.42 years. Differences in the menarcheal age of the girls was found to be significantly correlated to social class, parents ethnic origin, educational institution and home living area (P = 0.0001). The duration of the menarche and the interval between the menarche and the second period was found to be influenced by the age at menarche (P less than 0.01). Decline in menarcheal age in concurrence with world trends was observed. Further studies are necessary to identify the inherent and specific factors in the Ghanaian population which relate to and influence the age of menarche.