See for Yourself: Amenorrhea Means Thinner Bones

Bone microarchitecture might be a more sensitive measure of bone health than bone-mineral density (BMD) measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. For example, adolescents with anorexia nervosa have abnormalities in bone microarchitecture even when BMD is similar to that in normal-weight controls. Investigators used high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HRpQCT) to evaluate bone microarchitecture in amenorrheic athletes — a population at risk for abnormalities in bone health. They compared bone microarchitecture in 16 amenorrheic athletes (absence of periods for ≥3 months within a period of oligomenorrhea for ≥6 months or absence of menarche at age ≥16 years), 18 eumenorrheic athletes (≥9 periods in the p…