ABSTRACT
The present study was carried out to explore the mean age at menarche of school going girls of Western Nepal, Pokhara and to determine the factors influencing age at menarche. The data was collected from five schools located within the Pokhara Valley of Western Nepal. Only the students who had experienced menarche were included in the study. Verbal consent was obtained after explaining the objectives of the study; the students were interviewed for personal and family details and information obtained was recorded. The age at menarche was found to be 12.69 +/- 0.95 years. The mean age at menarche of those attending community schools was significantly higher than that of those attending private schools (12.85 +/- 0.87 vs 12.41 +/- 0.99 years). The mean age at menarche was found to be delayed with increase in number of family members and more siblings. The mean age at menarche of the vegetarians was higher than that of non-vegetarians (12.82. +/- 0.81 vs 12.68 +/- 0.95 years).
