_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Corresponding author: Email: drbilkish@ymail.com; Original Research Article MENSTRUAL PATTERN AND MENSTRUAL DISORDERS AMONG SCHOOL GOING ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN DELHI BILKISH NABILAL PATAVEGAR 1* , NAZISH RASHEED 1 , RAMBHA PATHAK 1 , M. C. KAPILASHRAMI 1 AND ABDUL BARI FAROOKEE 2 1 Department of Community Medicine Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India. 2 Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Escorts Fortis Hospital, Okhala, New Delhi, India. AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author BNP designed the study, wrote the protocol and interpreted the data. Author BNP, NR anchored the field study, gathered the initial data and performed preliminary data analysis. Authors while RP, MCK and ABF managed the literature searches and produced the initial draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. ABSTRACT Introduction: Menstrual cycles often are irregular through adolescence, particularly the interval from the first to the second cycle. Becoming less frequent as they grow older, 3–5 years after menarche. Objectives: To determine patterns of menstruation, prevalence of menstrual disorders and the health seeking behaviour of the adolescent girls related to menstruation. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 school going adolescent girls of government schools in south Delhi. After taking informed consent, the data was collected through a self- administered questionnaire prepared in Hindi. Results: The mean age at menarche in the study subjects was 12.7+1.00 years. Average menstrual interval was 29.01+7.03 days. Dysmenorrhea was reported by 62% of the girls. Premenstrual syndrome was experienced by 34% girls. Out of 71.59% girls who had ever experienced any menstrual problem, some 30% had any consultation regarding the problem. Conclusion: Age at menarche had declined and there is significant variation in adolescent menstruation in initial 3 years after menarche. Menstrual problems are frequent among adolescent girls. However many adolescent girls do not seek medical advice for these menstrual problems. Keywords: Menstruation; menstrual pattern; adolescent girl; dysmenorrhoea. 1. INTRODUCTION Adolescence is the transitional phase of physical and mental development between childhood and adulthood and is characterized by immense hormonal changes. The most striking change in adolescent girls is the onset of menstruation. In the Indian context, the age of onset of menstruation or menarche is generally between 11-15 years. Though the timing of this process is individual specific, within a broad range of normality after menarche, common menstrual abnormalities that the female adolescent may encounter include dysmenorrhea, irregularities in menstrual flow and premenstrual symptoms. Seventy