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Is there an association between athletic amenorrhea and endothelial cell dysfunction?
Anne Zeni Hoch1, Rania L Dempsey, Guillermo F Carrera
1Sports Medicine Center, Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery/Cardiovascular Center, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA. azeni@mcw.edu.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|March 6, 2003
Summary
Young female athletes with athletic amenorrhea experience reduced brachial artery dilation, a potential early sign of cardiovascular disease. This finding highlights risks associated with exercise-induced menstrual irregularities.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Sports Medicine
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Athletic amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea are common in female athletes.
- These conditions may be linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk.
- Endothelial dysfunction is an early marker of cardiovascular disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if young females with athletic amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea exhibit signs of early cardiovascular disease.
- To assess endothelium-dependent dilation of the brachial artery in these groups.
Main Methods:
- Studied three groups: 10 women with athletic amenorrhea, 11 with oligomenorrhea, and 11 age-matched controls.
- All participants ran at least 25 miles per week and were free of metabolic disease.
- Brachial artery flow-mediated dilation was measured noninvasively using ultrasound.
Main Results:
- Endothelium-dependent brachial artery dilation was significantly reduced in the amenorrheic group (1.08 +/- 0.91%).
- Dilation in the amenorrheic group was lower compared to both oligomenorrheic (6.44 +/- 1.3%) and eumenorrheic (6.38 +/- 1.4%) groups (P<0.05).
Conclusions:
- Athletic amenorrhea is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent brachial artery dilation.
- This vascular dysfunction may increase the risk for accelerated cardiovascular disease development in athletes with amenorrhea.