TABLE 3.
Incidence of menstrual cycle symptoms reported in hormonal contraceptive users (AthleteHC) and naturally cycling athletes (AthleteNC) and on bleeding and nonbleeding days.
| Menstrual Status | Bleeding Patterns | Interaction | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AthleteNC (%) | AthleteHC (%) | P | Bleeding Day (%) | Nonbleeding (%) | P | P | |
| Abdominal cramps | 14.1 | 18.8 | 0.601 | 26.0 | 10.2 | <0.001a | 0.114 |
| Acne | 13.6 | 3.3 | 0.047a | 5.2 | 12.5 | 0.442 | 0.785 |
| Appetite changes | 2.7 | 3.1 | 0.432 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 0.030a | 0.384 |
| Bloating | 9.7 | 10.9 | 0.369 | 12.6 | 8.7 | <0.001a | 0.124 |
| Breast pain | 3.3 | 1.9 | 0.599 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 0.003a | 0.574 |
| Constipation | 3.9 | 1.7 | 0.994 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 0.196 | 0.172 |
| Fatigue | 16.0 | 7.2 | 0.430 | 10.7 | 14.1 | <0.001a | 0.327 |
| Headache | 6.4 | 15.3 | 0.332 | 9.7 | 9.5 | 0.010a | 0.020 |
| Lower back pain | 4.5 | 19.6 | 0.646 | 10.3 | 9.6 | <0.001a | 0.558 |
| Mood changes | 13.7 | 5.4 | 0.154 | 10.1 | 11.2 | <0.001a | 0.867 |
| Sleep changes | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.056 | 5.2 | 2.8 | 0.075 | 0.408 |
| Other | 1.7 | 4.5 | 0.387 | 1.4 | 3.4 | 0.035a | 0.092 |
Only symptoms with an incidence of >2.5% are reported here.
a Significant effect.