Characteristics | Female athletes* n=228 | Reference population n=1368 | P value |
Age at the start of follow-up, mean (years) (±SD) | 32.05 (8.48) | 32.05 (8.47) | 0.996 |
Post-secondary education† (%) | 46.5 | 26.8 | <0.001 |
Hyperthyroidism† (%) | 0.4 | 1.7 | 0.257 |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease† (%) | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.493 |
Diabetes mellitus† (%) | 2.2 | 4.5 | 0.146 |
Hypertension† (%) | 5.7 | 14.2 | 0.001 |
Valvular heart disease† (%) | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.455 |
Ischaemic heart disease† (%) | 0.9 | 3.8 | 0.039 |
Congestive heart failure† (%) | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.537 |
*Marathon runners (n=108), 10 000 metres track runners (n=65) and bicyclists n=55.
†Proportion at the end of follow-up.