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Offered Support and Knowledge about the Menstrual Cycle in the Athletic Community: A Cross-Sectional Study of 1086 Female Athletes
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, Huddinge, 141 52, Sweden.
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, Huddinge, 141 52, Sweden.
School of Sport Sciences, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsoe, 9019, Norway; Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, Nord University, Bodø, 8026, Norway.
School of Sport Sciences, UiT—The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsoe, 9019, Norway; Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Centre for Elite Sports Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7034, Norway.
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2022 (English)In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, ISSN 1661-7827, E-ISSN 1660-4601, Vol. 19, no 19, article id 11932Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Many female athletes perceive that symptoms related to the menstrual cycle such as dysmenorrhea, premenstrual symptoms, amenorrhea or side-effects of hormonal contraceptives negatively impact their training, performance, and general well-being. Knowledge and communication about female athletes’ health is therefore important in the sport community. The aims of this study were to explore the level of knowledge and communication about menstrual cycle issues and use of hormonal contraceptives in the athletic community and to describe the kinds of medical support offered to female athletes. A total of 1086 Swedish and Norwegian athletes from 57 different sports responded to a web-based questionnaire. Of these, 58% (n = 627) practiced team sports and 42% (n = 459) individual sports. Twenty-six percent (n = 278) of the athletes perceived their knowledge about female athlete health to be poor/very poor and the knowledge was most often acquired from medical staff. Fifty-three percent (n = 572) of the athletes perceived the knowledge acquired of their coaches as poor/very poor, even though a significantly (p < 0.001) higher proportion of athletes with a female coach (30%, n = 31) rated their coach’s knowledge as very good/good, compared to athletes with a male coach (5%, n = 31). Only 11% (n = 116) of the athletes discussed female health issues with their coach. The majority (81%, n = 842) of the athletes partly to strongly agreed that female athlete health is considered a taboo topic in the athletic community. Forty-seven percent (n = 510) of the athletes had access to a physiotherapist, while only three percent (n = 29) had access to a gynecologist. Low perceived knowledge, lack of communication and support demonstrate the need for a multi-professional medical team and enhanced educational efforts focused on female athlete health in the athletic community.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI , 2022. Vol. 19, no 19, article id 11932
Keywords [en]
amenorrhea, hormonal contraceptives, menstrual cycle, physical performance, sport
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine
Research subject
Physiotherapy; Centre - Swedish Sports Technology and Performance Research Centre (SPORTC)
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-93724DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191911932ISI: 000866812800001PubMedID: 36231231Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85139926394OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-93724DiVA, id: diva2:1706522
Note

Validerad;2022;Nivå 2;2022-10-26 (hanlid);

Funder: Swedish Olympic Committee

Available from: 2022-10-26 Created: 2022-10-26 Last updated: 2023-09-11Bibliographically approved

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Holmberg, Hans-Christer

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