@article {Micklesfield679, author = {L K Micklesfield and J Hugo and C Johnson and T D Noakes and E V Lambert}, title = {Factors associated with menstrual dysfunction and self-reported bone stress injuries in female runners in the ultra- and half-marathons of the Two Oceans}, volume = {41}, number = {10}, pages = {679--683}, year = {2007}, doi = {10.1136/bjsm.2007.037077}, publisher = {British Association of Sport and Excercise Medicine}, abstract = {Objective: To investigate factors associated with menstrual dysfunction, self-reported bone stress injuries and energy balance in women runners.Methods: 613 runners were randomly sampled during the registration period for an endurance event. Demographic information, including self-reported height and weight, training and injury history and menstrual history, was collected by questionnaire.Results: Ultra-marathon (ULTRA) participants (n = 276) were significantly older (mean (SD) 39 (8.2) vs 34 (10.5) years; p\<0.001), lighter (58.2 (6.6) vs 59.6 (8.3) kg; p\<0.05) and reported a higher training volume (p\<0.001) than half-marathon (HALF) participants (n = 337). Significantly more ULTRA subjects than HALF subjects reported a previous bone stress injury (21\% vs 14\%; p\<0.05). There was no difference between the groups for menstrual status, but age at menarche was later (p\<0.01) in the ULTRA group. Data were combined according to the absence (REG; n = 368/602 (61\%)) or presence (IRREG; n = 234/602 (39\%)) of a history of menstrual irregularity. Subject morphology was similar between groups, but the IRREG group had a higher self-reported measure on the self-loathing subscale (SLSS; p\<0.01). The whole group was then classified according to current menstrual status, with 165 women being classified as currently irregular. (OLIGO/AMEN; 11.6\%) and 445 women as currently regular (EUMEN; 88.4\%). There were no morphological differences between the groups, however the OLIGO/AMEN group had a later age of menarche (p\<0.01) than the EUMEN group. Further, women who reported a previous bone stress injury had higher SLSS scores than those who did not (2.91 (0.98) vs 2.68 (0.84); p\<0.05).Conclusions: There may be two independent mechanisms associated with energy balance, which are related to bone stress injuries, but may not necessarily be related to menstrual dysfunction.}, issn = {0306-3674}, URL = {https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/10/679}, eprint = {https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/41/10/679.full.pdf}, journal = {British Journal of Sports Medicine} }