PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Suvi Ravi
AU  - Maarit Valtonen
AU  - Johanna K Ihalainen
AU  - Elina Holopainen
AU  - Silja Kosola
AU  - Saara Heinonen
AU  - Ben Waller
AU  - Urho M Kujala
AU  - Jari Parkkari
TI  - Eating behaviours, menstrual history and the athletic career: a retrospective survey from adolescence to adulthood in female endurance athletes
AID  - 10.1136/bmjsem-2022-001489
DP  - 2023 Mar 01
TA  - BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
PG  - e001489
VI  - 9
IP  - 1
4099  - http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/1/e001489.short
4100  - http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/1/e001489.full
SO  - BMJ OPEN SP EX MED2023 Mar 01; 9
AB  - Aim To evaluate differences in menstrual and pubertal history and trends in eating behaviours among women with and without a competitive sports background. Additionally, we investigated if menstrual history and eating behaviours are associated with sports career-related factors.Methods This retrospective study was conducted on 100 women with a competitive endurance sports background and their age-matched, gender-matched and municipality-matched controls (n=98). Data were collected using a questionnaire using previously validated instruments. Generalised estimating equations were used to calculate associations of menstrual history and eating behaviours with outcome variables (career length, participation level, injury-related harms and career termination due to injury).Results Athletes reported higher rates of delayed puberty and menstrual dysfunction than controls. No differences between the groups were observed in the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire short form (EDE-QS) scores at any age. Previous disordered eating (DE) was associated with current DE in both groups. Among athletes, higher EDE-QS scores during the sports career were associated with a shorter career (B=−0.15, 95% CI −0.26 to –0.05). Secondary amenorrhoea was associated with lower participation level (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.95), injury-related harms during the career (OR 4.00, 95% CI 1.88 to 8.48) and career termination due to injury (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.51).Conclusion The findings indicate that DE behaviours and menstrual dysfunction, specifically secondary amenorrhoea, have a disadvantageous relationship with a sports career in women competing in endurance sports. DE during the sports career is associated with DE after the career.The data are not publicly available due to containing information that could compromise the privacy and consent of the participants, but anonymised data are available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.