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Background: The onset of menstruation is an important event in a woman’s lifecycle. It is associated with taboos and sociocultural restrictions. Faulty hygienic practices increase the risk of reproductive tract infections (RTI), leading to further complications if left untreated. With this background, the study was planned to assess adolescent school girls’ knowledge of menstruation and menstrual hygiene as well as their practices of menstrual hygiene. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Nagaon, Barpeta district, Assam, among 170 adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years, using a convenient sampling technique. A predesigned, pretested, semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the information from the study participants. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 17 and the results were expressed in percentages. Results: The study reveals that 91.76% of the adolescents knew that menstruation was normal. About 27.65% of the study participants did not know the cause of menstruation, and 54.12% did not know about the source of menstrual bleeding. Only 33.53% knew that uterus is the source of bleeding. About 61.76% of the study participants knew about the duration of a normal menstrual period. Regarding practices, 74.12% of the adolescents use sanitary pads during menstruation, 18.82% use cloth, and 7.06% use both cloth and sanitary pads. In about 63.53%, the method of disposal of used absorbent was throwing with domestic waste. Conclusion: The current study has revealed that menstruation and menstrual hygiene knowledge is poor among adolescent girls and practices regarding menstrual hygiene are not optimal.

Background: WHO (World Health Organization) defines adolescence as the segment of life between the ages of 10 and 19 years. The health problems of adolescents are very different from those of younger children and adults. Adolescent’s problems constitute a bulk of morbidities, which are unrecognized and uncared iceberg of disease burden. Moreover, the complex psychosocial morbidities and high risk behaviour of adolescents have been recognized as a threat to survival, growth and development. The objective of this study was to study the morbidity pattern prevalent among adolescents who attended the rural health training centre in Nagaon, Barpeta district, Assam.Methods: A cross sectional study was carried among 140 adolescents aged between 10 to 19 years, who visited the rural health training centre during the study period using convenient sampling technique. Data collection was done by using a semi structured questionnaire. A detailed history was taken regarding present and past illness. General and systemic examination was done. Anthropometric measurements were taken. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 17 and the results expressed in percentages.Results: The most common morbidity was anaemia, seen in 69.29% adolescents (males-66.04% and females-71.26%), followed by upper respiratory tract infection 37.14% (males-44.51% and females-34.48%) and dental problems 28.57% (males-28.30% and females-28.74%).Conclusions: Anaemia is the most common morbidity seen among adolescents in the present study. Early detection of the morbidities through regular survey will help in the prompt treatment and prevention of serious complications.