TABLE 2.
Hormone concentrations for the naturally cycling athletes (AthleteNC; n = 11) and athletes using hormonal contraception (AthleteHC; n = 13) during estimated phases 1, 2, and 4.
| Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AthleteNC | AthleteHC | AthleteNC | AthleteHC | AthleteNC | AthleteHC | ||
| Progesterone (nmol·L−1) | 2.82 ± 4.68 | 1.65 ± 1.65 | 2.71 ± 4.58 | 1.79 ± 1.93 | 31.43 ± 34.8a,b,c | 2.31 ± 2.47 | |
| Estradiol (pg·mL−1) | 37.9 ± 22.9 | 59.9 ± 54.6 | 113.5 ± 115.6 | 65.6 ± 61.6 | 164.9 ± 112.8a,c | 62.9 ± 77.5 | |
| FSH (mIU·mL−1) | 5.47 ± 1.59 | 5.21 ± 2.72 | 5.20 ± 1.73 | 5.38 ± 2.37 | 3.40 ± 1.77a,b | 4.31 ± 2.81a,b | |
| LH (mIU·mL−1) | 4.37 ± 2.79 | 5.06 ± 3.65 | 9.40 ± 7.90 | 4.79 ± 3.07 | 10.31 ± 14.11 | 3.70 ± 2.78 | |
| Sex hormone binding globulin (nmol·L−1) | 46.3 ± 20.6 | 74.4 ± 86.3 | 46.3 ± 21.9 | 73.3 ± 74.2 | 48.8 ± 19.4 | 73.9 ± 76.7 | |
| Total testosterone (nmol·L−1) | 1.24 ± 0.62 | 1.07 ± 0.47 | 1.53 ± 0.61 | 1.12 ± 0.64 | 1.40 ± 0.50 | 1.15 ± 0.47 | |
| Calculated free testosterone (pmol·L−1) | 18.6 ± 8.9c | 14.0 ± 6.1 | 24.1 ± 12.7c | 14.1 ± 7.1 | 20.8 ± 9.0c | 15.2 ± 7.0 | |
| Growth hormone (ng·mL−1) | 0.60 ± 0.68 | 0.53 ± 0.40 | 0.29 ± 0.20 | 1.04 ± 1.44 | 0.51 ± 0.49 | 1.35 ± 2.42 | |
aSignificantly different to phase 1.
bSignificantly different to phase 2.
cSignificantly different to HC users.
Note, data included here is for all 24 athletes involved in the study, and therefore includes some naturally menstruating athletes who did not achieve the hormonal profile for eumenorrheic classification of phase 2 or phase 4.