Plasma concentrations of β-endorphin in trained eumenorrheic and amenorrheic women

Harber, Vicki J.; Sutton, John R.; MacDougall, J. D.; Woolever, C. Allan; Bhavnani, Bhagu R.

doi:10.1016/s0015-0282(97)81361-1

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Of the 5200 women to whom letters were sent, 77.3% were ineligible, about one third (33.7%) because they were still having regular menstrual periods and almost two thirds (64.6%) because more than 12 months had elapsed since the FMP or they were using HRT. An additional 1.3% were ineligible for other reasons, such as language or ethnicity; 10.3% of the sample could not be contacted, and 8.6% refused the screening interview. Only 3.8% (n = 195) met all of the shared case-control criteria.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitual Physical Activity and Menopausal Symptoms: A Case-Control Study

Sternfeld¹,

Quesenberry²,

Husson³

1999

Journal of Women's Health

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A case-control study design was used to examine whether habitual physical activity prior to the final menstrual period (FMP) was associated with reduced risk of vasomotor and other symptoms during the perimenopausal period. Both cases and controls were identified through a screening interview with randomly selected women members, ages 48-52, of a large health maintenance organization. Cases (n = 82) were defined as women 3-12 months past their FMP who reported regularly having hot flashes or night sweats at least once a day or night during the 3 months following their FMP. Controls (n = 89) were of the same biologic age with respect to the FMP but reported vasomotor symptoms less than once a week during the reference time period. Neither cases nor controls had a history of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), hysterectomy, or bilateral oophorectomy. Case-control status, habitual physical activity (including recreational, housework, child care, and occupational activity), and psychological and somatic symptoms were assessed by self-report. Participation in vigorous recreational activity during the year prior to the FMP was not associated with reduced risk of frequent vasomotor symptoms after the FMP (odds ratio [OR] = 1.03 for a 50-unit increase in activity score, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.97-1.1). This lack of relationship was observed in all domains of activity. Factors that were associated with decreased risk included higher body mass index (BMI) (weight in kg/(height in meters)2) (OR = 0.95 per 1 unit increase in BMI, 95% CI = 0.90-1.00) and higher education (having a college degree relative to less education) (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.40-0.80). Physical activity was also unassociated with reduced risk of psychologic distress, depressive feelings, or somatic symptoms, but, relative to controls, having vasomotor symptoms (being a case) was strongly associated with increased risk of experiencing those symptoms (OR ranging from 1.83 for psychologic distress to 2.84 for depressive feelings). These findings suggest that regular physical activity before the FMP may not reduce the likelihood of experiencing symptoms during the perimenopause, although the small sample size may limit the inferences that can be drawn.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitual Physical Activity and Menopausal Symptoms: A Case-Control Study

Sternfeld¹,

Quesenberry²,

Husson³

1999

Journal of Women's Health

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“…Athletically trained women, both eumenorrheic and amenorrheic, have been shown to exhibit higher plasma levels of ␤-endorphin. 34 Although the precise role of ␤-endorphin in menopausal hot flashes is a subject of debate, decreased levels are observed in postmenopausal women, 35 and increased 36 or decreased levels 22 are suggested to occur during hot flashes. Levels of endorphins have been observed to correlate with estrogen 35 and affect levels of hormones, such as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GRH).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Activity And Risk of Hot Flashes among Women in Midlife

Whitcomb

Whiteman

Langenberg

et al. 2007

Journal of Women's Health

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“…There is experimental evidence that acute, as well as chronic, stress increases opioid peptide content in the anterior pituitary even at a resting state, thus inhibiting gonadotrophin secretion at the hypothalamic level (Harber et al ., 1997). Indeed, a decrease in LH, FSH and E 2 levels has been observed in eumenorrhoeic or amenorrhoeic athletes (Laatikainen et al ., 1986; Harber et al ., 1997). Others found no change in LH and FSH levels but only decreased E 2 (Loucks et al ., 1989; Samuels et al ., 1991) or a decrease in LH and E 2 levels while FSH remained unchanged (Boyden et al ., 1984).…”

Section: Mean (±Sd) Plasma Oestradiol Prolactin Total Testosteronementioning

confidence: 95%

“…Sirs , A variety of normal and abnormal metabolic states including stress, calorie restriction and exercise may influence plasma hormone levels in women. Alterations in hormones reflect abnormalities of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐ovarian (HPO) and the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axes and have often been associated with changes in ovulation, luteal function and/or menstruation (Loucks et al ., 1989; Creatsas et al ., 1992; Harber et al ., 1997). The reported data concerning hormonal changes in women doing sports are contradictory due, in part, to the employment of different protocols in which a variety of factors can affect circulating hormone levels (Nakajima & Gibson, 1990; Creatsas et al ., 1992; Clapp et al ., 1993; Harber et al ., 1997).…”

Section: Mean (±Sd) Plasma Oestradiol Prolactin Total Testosteronementioning

confidence: 99%