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Age at menarche and prevalence of oligo/amenorrhea in top Polish athletes
Author(s) -
Skierska Elżbieta
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6300(1998)10:4<511::aid-ajhb11>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - menarche , athletes , hum , demography , population , amenorrhea , medicine , field hockey , physical therapy , psychology , geography , biology , pregnancy , history , genetics , archaeology , sociology , performance art , football , art history
The representative sample of a population of top Polish athletes (>75% of all participants in Poland's Winter and Summer National Championships during 1992–1994) was investigated using a questionnaire. The athletic group numbered 926 women in total. The control group (n = 708) in the same age range (15–37 years) as the athletes was randomly chosen from the Warsaw population. The mean menarcheal age of all athletes was 13.6 ± 1.3 years, and it was statistically different from the controls (12.9 ± 1.2 years). Athletes who started training before menarche were more numerous (661) than those who started training after menarche (265). The mean menarcheal age was also different for those groups (13.9 ± 1.3 years vs. 13.0 ± 1.3 years). In all sports except cross‐country skiing and biathlon, the menarcheal age of girls starting training before menarche was later as compared to the age of those starting training after menarche. The prevalence of oligo/amenorrhea (⩽9 menstrual cycles per year) was much higher for all younger and premenarche trained athletes than postmenarche trained girls. This prevalence also was much higher for athletes than for controls. Early maturers were engaged in team games, fencing, and judo, but late maturers were engaged in cross‐country skiing and biathlon, track and field—long and middle distances, and marathon. It may indicate the presence of the sport's selection factor. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:511–517, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.