With the aim of developing standards and conducting comparative analysis of the level of puberty in rural schoolchildren of Nizhniy Novgorod region, with regard to the temporal and territorial factors, 2411 individuals of both sexes aged 11-17 years were examined. During medical examinations, that were conducted in 2011-2013, the development of secondary sexual characteristics was characterized. The results obtained were compared with those received in 1967-1968 surveys and in the studied of modern children and teenagers living in the city of Nizhniy Novgorod. It was found that the level of puberty in rural schoolchildren has grown statistically significantly over the past 45 years. The appearance of secondary sexual characteristics in boys was accelerated by 2-3 years. In girls, the shift of 1-2 years was observed, while the sequence of their development remained unchanged, and in boys it was accompanied by the delayed growth of the thyroid cartilage. Among rural and urban boys, the differences in the level of puberty was less pronounced than among the girls. By the rate of passage of puberty transformations, rural girls lag behind their urban peers for 1 year. Modern rural students of Nizhny Novgorod region are characterized by higher variability of the manifestation of secondary sexual characteristics and their expression than in other regions of the country, especially among boys.
