--- title: What are normal menstrual patterns in adolescent girls in Ethiopia? description: The median age of first period was 14.8 years, with 70% having cycles of 21-35 days. However, 75% had premenstrual symptoms and 72% had painful periods. url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/age-at-menarche-and-the-menstrual-pattern-of-secondary-school-adolescents-in-2009/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - What are normal menstrual patterns in adolescent girls in Ethiopia? Survey study, 2009 # What are normal menstrual patterns in adolescent girls in Ethiopia? The median age of first period was 14.8 years, with 70% having cycles of 21-35 days. However, 75% had premenstrual symptoms and 72% had painful periods. Early or limited evidence 622 secondary school girls in northwest Ethiopia, aged 14-19 years ## What they did Cross-sectional study of 622 secondary school girls (mean age 16.9 years, range 14-19) in northwest Ethiopia. Participants completed a questionnaire about menstrual age and characteristics. ## What they found 92.2% had started their periods. Median age at menarche was 14.8 years. 70.3% had cycle lengths of 21-35 days with mean flow duration of 4 days. However, 42.8% had irregular cycles, 72% had dysmenorrhoea, and 75.4% had premenstrual symptoms. ## What it means for you Menstrual irregularities and premenstrual symptoms are very common in adolescent girls. This study was done in one region of Ethiopia and may not apply to other populations or countries. 75.4% had premenstrual symptoms 72% had painful periods 14.8 years median age at first period ## About the study Original title Age at menarche and the menstrual pattern of secondary school adolescents in northwest Ethiopia Authors Zegeye DT, Megabiaw B, Mulu A Journal BMC women's health Year 2009 Study design Survey study Participants 622 What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-9-29](https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6874-9-29) Original abstract Background: Population studies on normal and dysfunctional characteristics of menstrual cycles are scarce in Ethiopia. In addition variability in menarcheal age and menstrual characteristics are common. Knowledge on this variability is necessary for patient education and to guide clinical evaluation. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in two small towns called Dabat and Kola Diba, northwest Ethiopia between April and May 2007. Systematic sampling method was used to select 622 school girls from two secondary schools. A pretested questionnaire prepared in Amharic was used to gather data. Selected girls cooperated in answering the questionnaire in their classrooms under the supervision of the research team. Only 612 of the adolescent females were included in the final analysis, of which 305 were from Koladiba High School and 307 from Dabat. Results: The age of the study subjects ranges between 14 and 19 with a mean (standard deviation) of 16.9 +/- 1 years. About 92.2% had attained menarche by the time the survey was conducted. The probit analysis of the status quo data yielded a median (CI) age at menarche of 14.8 (13.9-15.3) years. The average age at menarche by recall method was 15.8 +/- 1 years. The mean age at menarche was 0.3 years younger for urban females compared with rural ones (p < 0.001). A cycle length between 21 and 35 days was observed in 70.3% of the girls. The mean duration of flow was 4 +/- 1.3 days with a range of 2-7 days. The menstrual cycles were irregular in 42.8% of the subjects. The overall prevalence of dysmenorrhoea was 72% among these subjects. Premenstrual symptoms were present in 435 of the females (75.4%). The leading sources of menarcheal information to the adolescents were mothers (39.7%), followed by their friends (26.6%) and teachers (21.8%). Conclusion: In this study age of menarche was found to be delayed which is even higher than the findings indicated similar studies conducted in Ethiopia and other African countries. A significant number of students complain of abnormal menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhoea and premenstrual symptoms which call for appropriate counselling and management. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Psychotherapy, counselling and education](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-psychotherapy/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2025 Does teaching adolescent girls about their menstrual cycle and health help reduce period pain and PMS? Survey study, 2023 How common are PMS, PMDD, anxiety, and depression in rural adolescent girls? Survey study, 2026 Does low calcium intake relate to PMS in teenage girls? Study, 2026 How common is premenstrual syndrome in teenage girls? Non-randomised trial, 2025 Does education about yoga help treat PMS symptoms? Survey study, 2025 What factors are linked to PMS in female graduate students? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗