Determination of onset of puberty in boys of a rural community in Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

In a cross-sectional study carried out in a rural community in Gizan, Saudi Arabia, 480boys aged between 9 and 18 were examined to determine the age of onset of puberty. Based on genital organ development and occurrence of height spurt, 272 boys showed signs of onset of puberty. The earliest age of onset of puberty was 10 years and the latest was 16 years. Fifty percent of boys aged 13,90% of those aged, 14 and 100% of those aged 16 or over had attained puberty. Statistical analysis showed that 13 should be accepted as the average age of onset of puberty in this community