Sexual maturation in Turkish girls.

Ages of attainment of successive puberty stages of the breast, public hair and axillary hair and of menarche were established in a cross-sectional study of 1468 Turkish school girls in Istanbul. The subjects were grouped into four socioeconomic classes. Onset of secondary sexual characteristics and of menarche in the highest socioeconomic class were early as compared to other population groups. Mean ages of attainment for the initial stage of breast, pubic hair and axillary hair development were 9.8, 10.4 and 10.8 years respectively in this group. Mean menarcheal age was 12.36 +/- 0.01 years. All stages of breast, pubic hair and axillary hair and also menarche consistently occurred later in the lower socioeconomic classes as compared with the higher. The time intervals from onset to completion of secondary sexual characteristics were comparable to those reported for European girls for pubic and axillary hair development, but relatively longer for the development of the breast. They differed little between the socioeconomic classes.