HealthScout - Menstrual Cycle May Indicate Risk of Osteoporosis

Menstrual Cycle May Indicate Risk of Osteoporosis

Study: Irregular periods in younger women indicate higher possibility of low bone density

SATURDAY, June 1 (HealthScoutNews) -- Irregular menstrual periods in young women may be a warning sign of a hormonal shortage that could lead to osteoporosis later in life.

A preliminary study by researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) involved 48 women with a condition called premature ovarian failure. This condition occurs when the ovaries stop producing eggs and reproductive hormones well in advance of natural menopause. An estimated one percent of American women develop this condition by age 40.

The study appears in the May issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology journal.

Many of the women in the study reported a history of amenorrhea -- the absence of a menstrual period for three months or more -- before they were later diagnosed with premature ovarian failure. The researchers say many of the women didn't regard a change in menstrual pattern as an important health issue.

The authors say a delay in diagnosing and treating premature ovarian failure may put young women at increased risk of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is caused by loss of bone density -- especially in women who have gone through menopause -- and is characterized by loss of bone that results in deterioration. This can lead to fractures of the wrist, hip and spine.

The NICHD scientists did an earlier study of 89 women with premature ovarian failure that found 67 percent of those women had already developed the low bone density that precedes osteoporosis.

More information

This article from the FDA Consumer Magazine offers excellent information about what diet supplements work to fight bone density loss.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, news release, May 29, 2002

Last updated 6/1/2002.

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