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Amenorrhea
ASRM Academy
Expiration Date:
December 31, 2025
Credits:
0.00 CREOG

Amenorrhea is among the most common reasons for patients presenting for care to the practicing physician. Causes of amenorrhea can range from anatomic obstruction to complex endocrine dysfunction, and represent considerable consequences for the patient, who may be affected across her lifespan. Primary amenorrhea is rare, but the prevalence of secondary amenorrhea in the general population is as high as 5%; and is nearly 80% in some groups, including competitive athletes.1 As the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea is pregnancy, diagnosis and referral for prenatal care is essential. In contrast, amenorrhea can indicate an underlying cause of infertility. For all women, appropriate and timely diagnosis and treatment of amenorrhea are needed, but do not always occur. Interviews with women with spontaneous premature ovarian failure revealed they perceived a need for more aggressive evaluation of secondary amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea. Over half reported visiting a clinician's office three or more times before laboratory testing was performed to determine the diagnosis and over half of them reported seeing three or more different clinicians before diagnosis.2 Amenorrhea is part of the Female Athlete Triad, which also includes eating disorders (EDs) and negative effects on bone health; however, only 17% of gynecologists were able to identify all 3 components in one survey.3 Surveys have found that obstetrician-gynecologists are also not confident in their residency training regarding EDs; significant majorities rated residency training in diagnosing (88.5%) and treating (96.2%) EDs as barely adequate or less.4

  1. Reindollar RH, Novak M, Tho SP, McDonough PG: Adult-onset amenorrhea: a study of 262 patients. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1986;155:531-543.
  2. Alzubaidi NH, Chapin HL, Vanderhoof VH, Calis KA, Nelson LM. Meeting the needs of young women with secondary amenorrhea and spontaneous premature ovarian failure. Obstet Gynecol. 2002 May;99(5 Pt 1):720-5.
  3. Troy K, Hoch AZ, Stavrakos JE. Awareness and comfort in treating the Female Athlete Triad: are we failing our athletes? WMJ. 2006 Oct;105(7):21-4.

This educational activity is designed to address the Unit 5 Reproductive Endocrinology educational objectives from the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) on this topic.


 

ACTIVITY NUMBER:  RES007

 

ACTIVITY TITLE: Amenorrhea

 

ACCREDITATION STATEMENT

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

 

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  • List Price: Free