Menstrual and cardiovascular function in top elite athlete women

Female athletes run an elevated risk of developing chronic energy deficiency, with ensuing severe medical consequences. However, little is known about these issues in top elite sportswomen. This book summarizes four studies performed on athletes at the utmost elite level. Strikingly, the resuts challenge the contemporary concept that reproductive dysfunction in sportswomen is typically a consequence of caloric deficit. Olympic athletes were found to have an anabolic body composition and biomarkers of energy availability within the normal ranges, and indications of having adopted healthier nutritional practices than the men. The single most frequent underlying cause of menstrual disturbances was the hyperandrogenic disorder PCOS. Furthermore, enhanced long-term cardiovascular function was seen in former elite athlete women. This book is also a review of contemporary female endocrine and cardiovascular sports medicine. It should be particularly interesting for professionals and scientists in athletic medicine, as well as for doctors, coaches and athletes interested in optimizing the health of sportswomen