Objective: To investigate the timing of puberty onset among primary school students, so as to provide the reference data for early identification of children with suspected precocious puberty. Methods: A study was conducted from October 23 to November 7, 2023, involving 10 225 students(5 412 boys, 4 813 girls) from grade 1 to 6 of four campuses in Meiling Primary School in Yangzhou. Breast development in girls and external genitalia in boys was assessed via visual inspection and palpation, with pubertal stages classified using the Tanner staging method. Puberty onset timing was determined based on age/sex reference values from Chinese Han children s pubertal milestone indicators. Descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0. Results: The median age for testicular volume reaching 4 mL in boys was 10.49 years, while the median age for breast development onset in girls was 9.70 years. Among boys with testicular volume ≥4 mL, 16.6%( n =217) were identified as suspected early puberty cases; among girls with Tanner stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ, 123(9.4%) and 165(18.5%) showed earlier breast development than the reference range. Overall, 14.4% of students exhibited suspected precocious puberty. Conclusion The onset age of puberty for girls in primary schools of Yangzhou aligns with findings from other regions, while boys show earlier pubertal initiation.

Objective:To develop a perinatal depression screening scale for Chinese urban version and test its reliability and validity.Methods:Naturally conceived women who were≥12 weeks of gestation and had regular prenatal examinations or delivered within four weeks in Xi'an and Foshan were recruited using convenience sampling. Initial entries were created through clinical interviews and expert validation of 50 of these pregnancies. Further item screening and testing for reliability and validity using correlation analysis, critical ratio method, homogeneity test, and factor analysis were performed. The final questionnaire was formed and then used to test the subjects. Fifty women who had completed the questionnaire effectively were selected for retesting 10 to 15 days after the initial evaluation. A structural equation model was constructed using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) as the reference criterion to conduct the scale's exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The receiver operating characters curve was used to determine the cut-off point of the scale.Results:(1) 1 300 questionnaires were issued, and 1 049 valid questionnaires were received with a recovery rate of 80.7%. Among them, 601 were used for exploratory and correlation analysis, and 448 were used for confirmatory factor analysis. (2) The initial entries of the scale totaled 63. After eliminating indicators that did not meet the requirements for item analysis, the final scale consisted of 22 entries in total. The final scale consisted of six dimensions, including "abnormal mood", "loss of interest and pleasure," "sleep disorder," "self-blame and guilt," "decline in conscious thought ability," and "lack of energy". (3) The correlation coefficients between the above six dimensions and EPDS were 0.609, 0.322, 0.423, 0.522, 0.545, and 0.516, respectively. The one between the total scale and EPDS was 0.715 (all P<0.01). (4) The confirmatory factor analysis of each model and the scale showed an acceptable fit and a stable factor structure with indices Chi-square/degrees of freedom =2.504, square root of approximation error=0.058, standardized root mean square residual=0.048, comparative fit index=0.925, Tueker-Lewis index=0.911. After retaining 22 items, the Cronbach's coefficients of the six dimensions ranged from 0.708 to 0.870. (5) The test-retest reliability of the total scale, six dimensions, and 22 items were 0.936, 0.786-0.846, and 0.720-0.886, respectively. (6) The receiver operating characteristic curve of the scale was drawn with EPDS≥13 as the cut-off value, and the area under the curve (AUC) of EPDS was 0.808 (95% CI: 0.744-0.872). When the original cut-off point was 21, the Youden index was the max (0.561), with sensitivity and specificity of 0.952 and 0.609, respectively. The Kappa value was 0.691, indicating that the scale was consistent with EPDS. Conclusion:This study preliminarily established a Chinese urban version of the perinatal depression screening scale with a stable factor structure and good reliability and validity.

Objective:To develop a perinatal depression screening scale for Chinese urban version and test its reliability and validity.Methods:Naturally conceived women who were≥12 weeks of gestation and had regular prenatal examinations or delivered within four weeks in Xi'an and Foshan were recruited using convenience sampling. Initial entries were created through clinical interviews and expert validation of 50 of these pregnancies. Further item screening and testing for reliability and validity using correlation analysis, critical ratio method, homogeneity test, and factor analysis were performed. The final questionnaire was formed and then used to test the subjects. Fifty women who had completed the questionnaire effectively were selected for retesting 10 to 15 days after the initial evaluation. A structural equation model was constructed using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) as the reference criterion to conduct the scale's exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The receiver operating characters curve was used to determine the cut-off point of the scale.Results:(1) 1 300 questionnaires were issued, and 1 049 valid questionnaires were received with a recovery rate of 80.7%. Among them, 601 were used for exploratory and correlation analysis, and 448 were used for confirmatory factor analysis. (2) The initial entries of the scale totaled 63. After eliminating indicators that did not meet the requirements for item analysis, the final scale consisted of 22 entries in total. The final scale consisted of six dimensions, including "abnormal mood", "loss of interest and pleasure," "sleep disorder," "self-blame and guilt," "decline in conscious thought ability," and "lack of energy". (3) The correlation coefficients between the above six dimensions and EPDS were 0.609, 0.322, 0.423, 0.522, 0.545, and 0.516, respectively. The one between the total scale and EPDS was 0.715 (all P<0.01). (4) The confirmatory factor analysis of each model and the scale showed an acceptable fit and a stable factor structure with indices Chi-square/degrees of freedom =2.504, square root of approximation error=0.058, standardized root mean square residual=0.048, comparative fit index=0.925, Tueker-Lewis index=0.911. After retaining 22 items, the Cronbach's coefficients of the six dimensions ranged from 0.708 to 0.870. (5) The test-retest reliability of the total scale, six dimensions, and 22 items were 0.936, 0.786-0.846, and 0.720-0.886, respectively. (6) The receiver operating characteristic curve of the scale was drawn with EPDS≥13 as the cut-off value, and the area under the curve (AUC) of EPDS was 0.808 (95% CI: 0.744-0.872). When the original cut-off point was 21, the Youden index was the max (0.561), with sensitivity and specificity of 0.952 and 0.609, respectively. The Kappa value was 0.691, indicating that the scale was consistent with EPDS. Conclusion:This study preliminarily established a Chinese urban version of the perinatal depression screening scale with a stable factor structure and good reliability and validity.