Abstract
Introduction
Menstrual dysfunction, musculoskeletal injury, and poor nutrition combine to form the female athlete triad (FAT), which results in serious health consequences for affected athletes. To this point, the risk factors of this phenomenon have not been fully explored in Japanese female college athletes. Additionally, the effect of competitive level on FAT risk factors has also not been reported. Therefore, we aimed to examine FAT risk factors in Japanese female athletes of various sports as well as examine the impact of competitive level on FAT.
Methods
A Japanese-language survey was completed by 531 athletes and 20 nonathletes at two Japanese universities and answers with regard to menstrual status, musculoskeletal injury, nutrition, and other variables were analyzed based on classification of the sports into nine distinct groups based on activity type. Sport intensity, training volume, and competitive levels were used to further classify each sport. One-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni post hoc test using SPSS were carried out to analyze significance for relationships between sport intensity and FAT risk factors. Additionally, the relationship between competitive level and FAT risk factors was analyzed by ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc tests.
Results
Sport intensity was positively correlated with a delay in menarche as well as dysmenorrhea and poor nutrition while musculoskeletal injury was correlated with repetitive, high-training volume sports. Lower competitive levels increased dysmenorrhea but did not impact injury status or nutrition.
Conclusion
Sport intensity and training volume, but not competitive level, are the critical factors affecting FAT risk in Japanese female college athletes.
Acknowledgments
This project was funded by The University of Tsukuba (Funding #10100). The sponsors of this study had no role in the study design, collection/analysis of data, the writing of the manuscript, or the decision to publish.
Author contributions
All authors contributed towards data analysis, drafting and revising the paper and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.