Menstrual disturbances in XCO and DH World Cup Riders.

Female athletes are known to be more susceptible to menstrual disturbances, often as a consequence of low energy availability associated with high training volumes and energy intake insufficient for energy expenditure.

When surveying XCO and DH World Cup and World Championship riders, a total of 58% of riders reported present or historical menstrual disturbances. Further, 34% experienced amenorrhea (absent periods) and 47% oligomenorrhea (irregular periods). This is similar to findings by Heather et al. (2021) who reported 50% of riders not on hormonal contraceptives with present or historical menstrual disturbances. As expected, the total prevalence of menstrual disturbances in World Cup mountain bikers was higher than what is seen in the general population, less than 30% (Burrows & Bird, 2000; Goodwin et al., 2014; Kwak et al., 2019).

Undiagnosed menstrual disturbances in this study were more than double those of diagnosed menstrual disturbances which is similar to previous research. Although this could be impacted by recall bias or a lack of education and knowledge on the impact of hormonal contraceptives on a natural cycle, it is still noteworthy as could indicate that some athletes are experiencing health problems but going unnoticed without the support they need.

Findings from my research Riding With Flow: Menstrual Health in World Cup and World Championship Mountain Bikers.

References:

Burrows, M., & Bird, S. (2000). The physiology of the highly trained female endurance runner. Sports Medicine, 30(4), 281-300.

Goodwin, Y., Monyeki, M. A., Boit, M. K., De Ridder, J. H., Toriola, A. L., Mwangi, F. M., . . . Mwihaki, M. G. (2014). Profile of the female athlete triad among elite Kenyan endurance athletes and non-athletes. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation & Dance, 20(2.2), 610-625.

Heather, A., Thorpe, H., Ogilvie, M., Sims, S., Beable, S., Milsom, S., . . . Hamilton, B. (2021). Biological and socio-cultural factors have the potential to Influence the health and performance of elite female athletes: A cross sectional survey of 219 elite female athletes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 3. doi:10.3389/fspor.2021.601420

Kwak, Y., Kim, Y., & Baek, K. A. (2019). Prevalence of irregular menstruation according to socioeconomic status: A population-based nationwide cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE, 14(3), 1-12. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214071