Background: Although it has been shown that amenorrhea associated with low energy availability or relative energy deficiency in sport affects body physiology in female athletes, the association between menstrual dysfunction during active sports careers and reproductive function after retirement is not clear.
Objective: To investigate the association between menstrual dysfunction during their active sports career and post-retirement infertility in female athletes.
Methods: A voluntary web-based survey was aimed at former female athletes who had become pregnant and gave birth to their first child after retirement. Nine multiple-choice questions were included, on maternal age, competition levels and menstrual cycles during active sports careers, time from retirement to pregnancy, the time of resumption of spontaneous menstruation after retirement, conception method, and mode of delivery, etc. Regarding cases of primary and secondary amenorrhea among the abnormal menstrual cycle group, only those whose spontaneous menstruation had not recovered from retirement to the time of pregnancy were included in the study. The association between the presence of abnormal menstrual cycles from active sports careers to post-retirement pregnancy and the implementation of infertility treatment was evaluated.
Results: The study population included 613 female athletes who became pregnant and gave birth to their first child after retiring from competitive sports. Of the 613 former athletes, the infertility treatment rate was 11.9%. The rate of infertility treatment was significantly higher in athletes with abnormal than normal menstrual cycles (17.1% vs. 10.2%, p = 0.0225). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that maternal age (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.194; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.129, 1.262) and abnormal menstrual cycles (OR and 1.903; adjusted OR 1.105, 3.278) were the relevant factors for infertility treatment.
Conclusion: It was suggested that menstrual dysfunction that persist from active sports careers to post-retirement may be a factor in infertility when trying to conceive after retirement.
Keywords: Menstrual dysfunction; after retirement; female athlete triad; infertility; pregnancy.