Menstrual status and bone health in athletes from different sports – a retrospective analysis
Gina F. Øistuen, John O. Osborne, Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen, Dionne A. Noordhof, Madison Y. Taylor, Ida Heikura, Trent Stellingwerff, Sara A. Solheim, Helge E. Lundberg, Therese F. Mathisen, Mette Hansen, Mikkel Oxfeldt, Line B. Dalgaard, Erik P. Andersson, Klavs Madsen, Kristin L. Jonvik · 2026
Read Menstrual status and bone health in athletes from different sports – a retrospective analysis by Gina F. Øistuen, John O. Osborne, Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen, Dionne A. Noordhof, Madison Y. Taylor, Ida Heikura, Trent Stellingwerff, Sara A. Solheim, Helge E. Lundberg, Therese F. Mathisen, Mette Hansen, Mikkel Oxfeldt, Line B. Dalgaard, Erik P. Andersson, Klavs Madsen, Kristin L. Jonvik (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13474736.txt.
Description
Øistuen and co-authors pooled screening data on 411 female athletes from 34 sports to test how menstrual disturbance and sport type jointly shape bone density. Their 2026 retrospective analysis grouped 257 endurance and 154 non-endurance athletes by menstrual status: regular cycles, severe disturbance, or hormonal contraceptive use.
Severe menstrual disturbance was common everywhere, affecting 37% of endurance, 34% of ball sport, and 36% of power and technical athletes among those not on contraception, with no significant sport divide. Bone density told a different story: menstrual groups did not differ overall, but endurance athletes' lumbar spine scores averaged a Z score of −0.0 against 1.2 for non-endurance athletes, and low bone density hit 17% of endurance athletes versus 2% of the rest. Mechanical loading alone, the authors conclude, does not protect endurance bones.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Gina F. Øistuen, John O. Osborne, Jorunn Sundgot-Borgen, Dionne A. Noordhof, Madison Y. Taylor, Ida Heikura, Trent Stellingwerff, Sara A. Solheim, Helge E. Lundberg, Therese F. Mathisen, Mette Hansen, Mikkel Oxfeldt, Line B. Dalgaard, Erik P. Andersson, Klavs Madsen, Kristin L. Jonvik |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 53 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |