Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help

Abstract Background It is known that amenorrhea is highly prevalent among female athletes. However, a large percentage of them do not seek help if this complaint occurs. We performed this study to gain more insight into the reasons why female athletes do not seek help when experiencing amenorrhea an...

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Autores principales:	Saskia J. Verhoef, Merel C. Wielink, Edwin A. Achterberg, Marlies Y. Bongers, Simone M. T. A. Goossens
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Amenorrhea Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) Athletes Sports Sports medicine RC1200-1245
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/43c61ae2016e4fdbada7a04f7bbd2c47
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:43c61ae2016e4fdbada7a04f7bbd2c47
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:43c61ae2016e4fdbada7a04f7bbd2c472021-11-28T12:37:57ZAbsence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help10.1186/s13102-021-00372-32052-1847https://doaj.org/article/43c61ae2016e4fdbada7a04f7bbd2c472021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-021-00372-3https://doaj.org/toc/2052-1847Abstract Background It is known that amenorrhea is highly prevalent among female athletes. However, a large percentage of them do not seek help if this complaint occurs. We performed this study to gain more insight into the reasons why female athletes do not seek help when experiencing amenorrhea and how care for these women could be improved. Method Qualitative focus group research. Female athletes were approached to take part in a focus group. They were asked about the main reasons for not reporting amenorrhea and how care for amenorrhea, in their opinion, would ideally be organised. The women were asked to make a list of their top five reasons for both subjects and discuss this among their peers. Results According to the participants, the five main reasons for not reporting the amenorrhea were: (1) normalizing of the subject, (2) the absence of menstruation is not perceived as a problem by the athletes themselves, (3) experienced shame and taboo, (4) prioritisation of sports performance, and (5) denial. Factors to improve care around menstrual cycle problems in female athletes were: (1) informing athletes, coaches, trainers and mentors, (2) informing doctors, (3) conducting more research on long-term consequences, (4) breaking the taboo on menstrual problems, and (5) having a multidisciplinary collaboration between different specialisms. Conclusion By informing athletes, coaches, trainers, and mentors about menstrual cycle problems in athletes, more awareness among those groups can be created. According to the athletes, more research is needed on the long-term consequences of amenorrhea in sports, to enable them to make a better assessment of their possible future health risks. Women experience a taboo on discussing menstrual problems; role models discussing the problem may help in decreasing the taboo. A multidisciplinary collaboration of health care providers may improve care around female athletes with menstrual problems.Saskia J. VerhoefMerel C. WielinkEdwin A. AchterbergMarlies Y. BongersSimone M. T. A. GoossensBMCarticleAmenorrheaRelative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)AthletesSportsSports medicineRC1200-1245ENBMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Amenorrhea Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) Athletes Sports Sports medicine RC1200-1245
spellingShingle	Amenorrhea Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) Athletes Sports Sports medicine RC1200-1245 Saskia J. Verhoef Merel C. Wielink Edwin A. Achterberg Marlies Y. Bongers Simone M. T. A. Goossens Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
description	Abstract Background It is known that amenorrhea is highly prevalent among female athletes. However, a large percentage of them do not seek help if this complaint occurs. We performed this study to gain more insight into the reasons why female athletes do not seek help when experiencing amenorrhea and how care for these women could be improved. Method Qualitative focus group research. Female athletes were approached to take part in a focus group. They were asked about the main reasons for not reporting amenorrhea and how care for amenorrhea, in their opinion, would ideally be organised. The women were asked to make a list of their top five reasons for both subjects and discuss this among their peers. Results According to the participants, the five main reasons for not reporting the amenorrhea were: (1) normalizing of the subject, (2) the absence of menstruation is not perceived as a problem by the athletes themselves, (3) experienced shame and taboo, (4) prioritisation of sports performance, and (5) denial. Factors to improve care around menstrual cycle problems in female athletes were: (1) informing athletes, coaches, trainers and mentors, (2) informing doctors, (3) conducting more research on long-term consequences, (4) breaking the taboo on menstrual problems, and (5) having a multidisciplinary collaboration between different specialisms. Conclusion By informing athletes, coaches, trainers, and mentors about menstrual cycle problems in athletes, more awareness among those groups can be created. According to the athletes, more research is needed on the long-term consequences of amenorrhea in sports, to enable them to make a better assessment of their possible future health risks. Women experience a taboo on discussing menstrual problems; role models discussing the problem may help in decreasing the taboo. A multidisciplinary collaboration of health care providers may improve care around female athletes with menstrual problems.
format	article
author	Saskia J. Verhoef Merel C. Wielink Edwin A. Achterberg Marlies Y. Bongers Simone M. T. A. Goossens
author_facet	Saskia J. Verhoef Merel C. Wielink Edwin A. Achterberg Marlies Y. Bongers Simone M. T. A. Goossens
author_sort	Saskia J. Verhoef
title	Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
title_short	Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
title_full	Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
title_fullStr	Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
title_full_unstemmed	Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
title_sort	absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/43c61ae2016e4fdbada7a04f7bbd2c47
work_keys_str_mv	AT saskiajverhoef absenceofmenstruationinfemaleathleteswhytheydonotseekhelp AT merelcwielink absenceofmenstruationinfemaleathleteswhytheydonotseekhelp AT edwinaachterberg absenceofmenstruationinfemaleathleteswhytheydonotseekhelp AT marliesybongers absenceofmenstruationinfemaleathleteswhytheydonotseekhelp AT simonemtagoossens absenceofmenstruationinfemaleathleteswhytheydonotseekhelp
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Absence of menstruation in female athletes: why they do not seek help

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