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Background: Age at menarche and its potential associated factors are reported for 1862 Shiraz (Southern Iran) secondary school girls taking part in a cross-sectional survey selected from the four educational districts of the city., Methods: Probit analysis was used to estimate age at menarche, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to analyse socio-economic status (SES). Body mass index (BMI) was used as an indicator of nutrition., Results: Mean +/- SD age at menarche was 12.91 +/- 1.23 years (95% CI: 12.84-12.97). Of all subjects, 33.7% first menstruated in summer. The highest mean age at menarche was 13.01 years in winter. Stress, anxiety and discomfort was seen among 70.3% of subjects at menarche indicating total or partial ignorance of the menstruation phenomenon. Age at menarche decreased as SES improved. Menarcheal age was delayed for underweight subjects., Conclusions: It is concluded that BMI and SES had the most significant effects on variation of menarcheal age in a unified statistical model. However, their interaction was found to be not statistically significant.

Objective: To determine the prevalences of migraine and tension-type headache in teenaged girls attending schools in Shiraz (southern Iran)., Background: Studies of headache prevalence are numerous, and findings have varied according to the specific population and region involved. No data are available regarding headache prevalence among Iranian teenagers., Methods: A random sample of 1868 teenaged girls (aged 11 to 18 years) was evaluated, and 507 subjects reported headache. The headache disorders were classified on the basis of a clinical interview, general physical and neurologic examinations, and the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society. Logistic regression was used for data analysis., Results: Overall prevalence rate for migraine was 6.1% (95% CI, 5.0 to 7.2) and for tension-type headache, 12.1% (95% CI, 10.6 to 13.6). Migraine and tension-type headache were significantly associated., Conclusions: It is concluded that exposition of subjects to sunlight, type of food, and a family history of headache had most significant effects on occurrence of migraine and tension-type headaches.