Sexual maturation and growth pattern in Egyptian boys

The mean ages of attainment of successive stages of puberty were estimated in a cross-sectional sample of 453 Egyptian schoolboys from a semi-urban area of Cairo, ranging in age from 9 to 17 years. The stages of puberty were as defined by Tanner (1962). The mean age of onset of puberty (stage 2) was 11.1 years, assessed either by genitalia or by pubic hair. Stage 5 occurred at 16.2 years, again both for genitalia and pubic hair. The time interval between these ages, 5.1 years, was 2 years longer than for British or Chinese boys. There was a highly significant effect of social class on the mean ages of attainment, and the heights and weights of the boys were also related to social class, the class 1 boys being taller and heavier than Tanner's British boys.