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Cited by 47Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormonesOvarian function and disordersMenstrual Health and Disorders

The majority of irregular menstrual cycles in adolescence are ovulatory: results of a prospective study

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Peña, Alexia S, Doherty, Dorota A, Atkinson, Helen C, Hickey, Martha, Norman, Robert J, Hart, Roger·2018·Archives of Disease in Childhood
DOI 10.1136/archdischild-2017-312968
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Abstract

PURPOSE: While ovulation is most likely to occur in adolescent girls with regular menstrual cycles, there are limited data on the incidence of ovulation in girls with irregular menstrual cycles in early postmenarcheal years. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of ovulation in healthy postmenarcheal girls with irregular menstrual cycles. METHODS, DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Prospective cohort study over 12 weeks including 40 healthy postmenarcheal girls recruited from the population-based cohort of adolescents from Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study with irregular menstrual cycles defined by either menstrual cycles <21 days or >35 days in duration or cycle length that varied from month to month by >4 days according to menstrual diaries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Ovulation defined by urinary pregnanediol-3α-glucuronide/creatinine measurements higher than three times above minimum value obtained from 12 samples (1 per week). RESULTS: Forty girls (37 Caucasians) with irregular menstrual cycles aged 15.1 (median (IQR) 14.9-15.4) years who were 2.3 (1.9-3.3) years postmenarche were assessed. Urinary pregnanediol-3α-glucuronide/creatinine values identified that 33 girls (82.5%) ovulated during the 3 months of observation and 7 girls had anovulatory cycles. Menstrual diaries collected for a median (IQR) of 159 (137.5-188.2) days showed median minimal and maximum menstrual cycle duration of 24 (11.5-29) and 38.5 (35-48) days, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of healthy adolescent girls with irregular menstrual cycles are still ovulating despite irregular and infrequent menses.

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Authors
Peña, A. S., Doherty, D. A., Atkinson, H. C., Hickey, M., Norman, R. J., & Hart, R.
Affiliations
  • Women's and Children's Hospital (AU)
  • The University of Western Australia (AU)
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • The University of Adelaide (AU)
Corresponding author
Peña, Alexia S
ORCID
Venue
Archives of Disease in Childhood
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2017-08-09
Volume
103
Issue
3
Pages
235-239
ISSN
  • 0003-9888 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-2044
DOI
10.1136/archdischild-2017-312968
OpenAlex
W2745248923
Cited by
47
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2
FWCI
5.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Archives of Disease in Childhood (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
  • Adelaide Research & Scholarship (AR&S) (University of Adelaide) (submittedVersion)
  • eSpace (Curtin University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Health and Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Hypothalamic control of reproductive hormones
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Ovarian function and disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Menstrual Health and Disorders
Keywords
menstrual irregularity, adolescent girls, ovulation, anovulation, menstrual cycle length, Raine Study
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Female, Humans, Menarche, Menstrual Cycle, Ovulation, Ovulation Detection, Pregnanediol, Prospective Studies, Prevalence

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