Abstract
Study Objective
The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge high school coaches have about
the female athlete triad and to determine if gender differences in knowledge, attitudes,
and behaviors exist.
Design
Cross-sectional survey.
Setting
Twenty-six high schools in and around the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio.
Participants
Two-hundred currently employed high school coaches.
Interventions
Participants completed a 30-question survey used to assess knowledge, attitudes, and
behaviors coaches had about the female athlete triad.
Main Outcome Measures
Descriptive statistics (means, SD, frequency) and gender differences in response to
triad knowledge, attitude, and behavior questions.
Results
One hundred twenty-three high school coaches completed the survey. Survey respondents
were between 25 and 35 years of age, coached for 6-10 years, and coached female athletes
75%-100% of the time. Twenty-four percent reported “having heard of the triad” and
14% (17 of 123) were able to correctly name all of its components. There were no significant
differences between gender and the coach's ability to correctly name the 3 triad components
(t = 1.47, P = .14). There was no correlation between coach gender (r = 0.13, P = .07), age (r = 0.07, P = .42), number of years of coaching (r = 0.014, P = .88), and coach's knowledge of the triad components, respectively.
Conclusion
Female athletes might be at risk for developing the female athlete triad and high
school coaches can be instrumental in identifying athletes who are at risk. This study
showed that gaps in knowledge about the triad exist and that educating coaches about
the condition could serve as an important means of prevention for the condition.
Key Words
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent GynecologyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- 2014 Female athlete triad coalition consensus statement on treatment and return to play of the female athlete triad: 1st international conference held in San Francisco, CA, 2012, and 2nd international conference held in Indianapolis, IN, 2013.Clin J Sports Med. 2014; 24: 96-119
- Low energy availability, not stress exercise alters LH pulsatility in exercising women.J Appl Physiol. 1998; 84: 37-46
- The female athlete triad: position stand.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007; 39: 1867-1882
Goodman CC, Fuller KS: The female genital/reproductive system. In: Pathology: Implications for the Physical Therapist, 4th ed. Philadelphia, Elsevier, 2015, pp 1020–1034.
- Lutenizing hormone pulsatility is disrupted at a threshold of energy availability in regularly menstruating women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003; 88: 297-311
- The effects of intense exercise on the female reproductive system.J Endocrinol. 2001; 170: 3-11
- Inhibition of reproduction of service of energy balance.in: Wallen K. Schneider J.E. Reproduction in Context: Social and Environmental Influences on Reproductive Physiology and Behavior. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA2000: 35-82
- Luteal phase deficiency in recreational runners: evidence for a hypometabolic state.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003; 88: 337-346
- Dietary restriction reduces luteinizing hormone (LH) pulse frequency during waking hours and increases LH pulse amplitude during sleep in young menstruating women.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1994; 78: 910-915
- Energy availability, not body fatness, regulates reproductive function in women.Exerc Sports Sci Rev. 2003; 31: 144
- Evidence for a causal role of low energy availability in the induction of menstrual cycle disturbances during strenuous exercise training.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001; 86: 5184-5193
- Menstrual status and validation of body fat prediction in athletes.Hum Biol. 1984; 56: 383-392
- The presence of both an energy deficiency and estrogen deficiency exacerbate alterations of bone metabolism in exercising women.Bone. 2008; 43: 140-148
- Body composition and reproductive function exert unique influences and indices of bone health in exercising women.Bone. 2013; 56: 91-100
- Correlation of MRI grading of bone stress injuries with clinical risk factors and return to play: a 5-year prospective study in collegiate track and field athletes.Am J Sports Med. 2013; 41: 1930-1941
- Risk factors for stress fracture in female endurance athletes: a cross-sectional study.BMJ Open. 2012; 2: e001920
- Risk factors for stress fracture among young female cross-country runners.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007; 39: 1457-1463
- Ovarian suppression impairs sports performance in junior elite female swimmers.Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014; 46: 156-166
- Long-term estrogen deficiency lowers regional blood flow, resting systolic blood pressure, and heart rate in exercising premenopausal women.Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007; 292: E1401-E1409
- Amenorrhea in female athletes is associated with endothelial dysfunction and unfavorable lipid profile.J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005; 90: 1354-1359
- Update on the female athlete triad.Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2013; 6: 195-204
- Irreversible bone loss in former amenorrheic athletes.Osteoporosis Int. 1997; 7: 311-315
- Current knowledge, perceptions and interventions used by college coaches in the U.S., regarding the prevention and treatment of the female athlete triad.N Am J Sports Phys Ther. 2006; 1: 195-207
- NCAA coaches survey: the role of the coach in identifying and managing athletes with disordered eating.Eat Disord. 2005; 13: 447-466
- Perceptions, awareness and knowledge of the female athlete triad among coaches – are we meeting the expectations for athlete safety?.Int J Sports Sci Coach. 2016; 11: 545-551
- Gender differences in high school coaches’ knowledge, attitudes, and communication about the female athlete triad.Eat Disord. 2014; 22: 193-208
- Knowledge of the female athlete triad, and prevalence of triad risk factors among female high school athletes and their coaches.J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2014; 27: 278-282
- Foundations of Clinical Research: Applications to Practice.3rd ed. Pearson/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ2009
- Menstrual history as a determinant of current bone density in young athletes.JAMA. 1990; 263: 545-548
- Pre-participation physical examination: selected issues for the female athlete.Clin J Sport Med. 2004; 14: 153-160
- Use of a pre-participation physical exam in screening for the female athlete triad among high school athletes.J Sch Nurs. 2005; 21: 340-345
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 06, 2016
Footnotes
The author indicates no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
