Menstrual Function, Eating Disorders, Low Energy Availability, and Musculoskeletal Injuries in British Servicewomen.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate associations between menstrual function, eating disorders, and risk of low energy availability with musculoskeletal injuries in British servicewomen.

Methods: All women younger than 45 yr in the UK Armed Forces were invited to complete a survey about menstrual function, eating behaviors, exercise behaviors, and injury history.

Results: A total of 3022 women participated; 2% had a bone stress injury in the last 12 months, 20% had ever had a bone stress injury, 40% had a time-loss musculoskeletal injury in the last 12 months, and 11% were medically downgraded for a musculoskeletal injury.

Menstrual disturbances in British Servicewomen: A cross-sectional observational study of prevalence and risk factors.

Female athletes are at increased risk of menstrual disturbances. The prevalence of menstrual disturbances in British Servicewomen and the associated risk factors is unknown. All women under 45 years in the UK Armed Forces were invited to complete a survey about demographics, menstrual function, eating and exercise behaviors, and psychological well-being.

Reproductive and metabolic adaptation to multistressor training in women.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis suppression in exercising women can be caused by low energy availability (EA), but the impact of a real-world, multistressor training environment on reproductive and metabolic function is unknown. This study aimed to characterize reproductive and metabolic adaptation in women undertaking basic military training. A prospective cohort study in women undertaking 11-month initial military training ( = 47) was carried out.

Tibial Macrostructure and Microarchitecture Adaptations in Women During 44 Weeks of Arduous Military Training.

Bone adapts to unaccustomed, high-impact loading but loses mechanosensitivity quickly. Short periods of military training (≤12 weeks) increase the density and size of the tibia in women. The effect of longer periods of military training, where the incidence of stress fracture is high, on tibial macrostructure and microarchitecture in women is unknown.

Hormonal contraceptive prescriptions in the UK Armed Forces.

Introduction: Thirty four per cent of women use hormonal contraceptives in the UK and the contraceptive pill is the most common method. There are no comparable data in the UK Armed Forces, but servicewomen are often required to complete physically arduous job roles in combat zones and may be more likely to take contraceptives to control or stop menstrual bleeding than the general population. We explored the prevalence of hormonal contraceptive prescriptions in the UK Armed Forces.