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Studies in adolescents with anorexia or bulimia nervosa demonstrate an increased risk for oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea. How often do girls with subclinical eating disorders develop irregular menstrual function? To find out, investigators examined the relation between vomiting to lose weight and menstrual function, using data from the 2000 National Eating Disorders Screening Program (2971 girls from 98 U.S. high schools).
Overall, 86% of the sample was white (mean age, 16 years), 15% reported irregular menses, and 12% reported vomiting at least once per month to control weight. Self-reported age- and gender-specific BMIs were categorized as low-moderate or moderate weight (corresponding to BMIs of 18.5 to <25 at age 18 years) in 67% of respon…