Oral contraceptive usage as a treatment of the triad of disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis

Abstract EN

The number of females participating in sport has been dramatically increased during the last few decades.

As sport has advanced for females, they face many challenges.

Competitive female athletes experience physical stress to lose body weight to improve performance.

Hence, they may develop disordered eating behaviors which can result in energy deficit.

Energy deficit can lead to abnormal menstrual function which can result in low estrogen amenorrhea.

Hypoestrogenic amenorrhea is probably the main cause of bone loss and osteoporosis in female athletes.

These disorders (disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis) collectively known the female athlete triad can impair the health and thus athletic performance.

However, oral contraceptive used in female athletes may be necessary to restore estrogen stimulation to the bone and prevent any further bone loss.

This review focuses the relation between these disorders and use of oral contraceptive to alleviate their negative impact on body health and athletic performance.

Several studies reported that it may be helpful for increasing bone mineral density and preventing further bone loss in amenorrheic premenopausal athletes.