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Menstrual irregularity is a risk factor for suboptimal bone development in adolescents. To determine if female high-school track athletes — a group at high risk for oligomenorrhea and amenorrhea — are aware of this connection, investigators surveyed 150 track athletes from five public high schools in Houston. Athletes who took hormonal contraceptives or were premenarchal were excluded.
Among the 95 athletes (mean age, 16 years) who completed the survey, 16 were amenorrheic and 16 were oligomenorrheic (33%), and the rest were eumenorrheic. About 90% of the athletes answered incorrectly or did not know the answer to five of six questions about consequences of bone loss and the link to menstrual irregularity (e.g., “Skipping my period is my bod…