title: The use of salivary progesterone assays in the assessment of ovarian function in postmenarcheal girls.
abstract: Menstrual cycle profiles of salivary progesterone were derived from daily samples obtained from 75 postmenarcheal girls aged between 12 and 17 years. Data were analysed to establish the proportion of girls exhibiting ovulatory cycles in each of several age groups following menarche or in groups based solely on chronological age. 'Luteal'-phase profiles of salivary progesterone, which were similar in shape to those characteristic of mature premenopausal women, were taken to indicate the probable occurrence of ovulation. The percentage of cycles in those subjects judged to be ovulatory, grouped according to gynaecological age, rose from 14% in the first year to 56% in the fourth year. Those classified according to chronological age, and where sufficient data permitted reliable estimates of the percentage of subjects ovulating, rose from 11% at 12 years of age to 64% for girls aged 16. These data are in reasonable concordance with published data using plasma progesterone and urinary methods for establishing ovulatory incidence, and indicate the value of salivary progesterone measurements in studies of ovarian function in adolescence.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008572:Menarche; D010053:Ovary / Q000502:physiology*; D010060:Ovulation; D011374:Progesterone / Q000032:analysis*; D012463:Saliva / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone