ABSTRACT
Within the sample of the National Investigation of Development and Growth in Cuba in 1972, the mean age of menarche in girls and the different stages of sexual development in both sexes were analyzed. For menarche, the status method was employed with logit analysis in a national aleatory sample that comprised 13,143 girls. The mean age for menarche was 13.01 +/- 0.02 years with a value of 12.77 for urban population and 13.26 for the rural. The study was also made by provinces. The sexual development, according with the stages of Tanner's method was investigated. The sample included about 26,000 individuals from 8 to 18 years old. The results obtained for the different percentiles with the logit analysis are offered. The importance that adolescents have a different maturation rhythm; precocious, average and late, becomes evident and the importance of the knowledge of these variants in normal individuals by the personnel in charge is pointed out.
PIP: The authors examine the different stages of sexual development in Cuban adolescents, including mean age at menarche in girls. Data are for 13,143 girls surveyed in the 1972 National Investigation of Development and Growth in Cuba (SUMMARY IN ENG)
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Menarche , Puberty , Age Factors , Body Weight , Child , Cuba , Female , HumansABSTRACT
PIP: Medroxyprogesterone (MPA) is a progestin with no clinically detectable estrogenic and androgenic properties used in the treatment of sexual precocity. This report presents the results of administering large intramuscular doses of MPA (200 to 300 mg every 7 to 10 days for periods ranging from 5 to 40 months) in 3 girls and 1 boy with rapidly progressing idiopathic sexual precocity (e.g., breast enlargement, penile enlargement, pubic hair growth). Urinary steroids were measured by bioassay, standard modification of the double isotope derivative method, and other standard methods. The MPA regimen suppressed the signs and symptoms of precocious puberty. The 3 girls did not have further menstrual flow, breast tissue regressed, uterine size decreased, and vaginal cornification diminished, although not to prepubertal levels. A marked decrease in frequency of erections, no further penile enlargement, and only minimal progression of sexual hair were observed in the boy (the testis continued to enlarge, however). Excessive weight gain, rapid rate of linear growth and skeletal maturation were observed in the children during treatment, as was blood pressure elevation. The effectiveness of MPA appears to be mediated by the suppression of pituitary gonadotropin secretion. However, there was no consistent reduction of urinary gonadotropin levels, and suppression of gonadal stimulation was incomplete. Evidence of drug toxicity precludes further administration of high dosages of MPA even for research purposes.^ieng