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Definition and Epidemiology of the Female Athlete Triad

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The Female Athlete Triad

Abstract

The Female Athlete Triad is a function of the interrelationships among energy availability, menstrual function, and bone mineral density/skeletal fragility. These three components of the Triad have been conceptualized as being on a continuum to reinforce the idea that graded negative health outcomes can occur at varying levels of each component; these continua range from optimal health on one end to pathology and disease on the other. Estimates for the prevalence of the Triad and its components are wide, ranging from a low end of 1 % to a high end of over 50 %, with this variability attributable to different conceptual definitions of the components of the Triad, different measurement choices in operationalizing the components, and different sport, age, and competitive level of populations sampled.

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Acknowledgments

E. Kroshus and S.B. Austin are supported by the Ellen Feldberg Gordon Fund for Eating Disorders Research and the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders at the Harvard School of Public Health. S.B. Austin is also supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, training grants MC00001 and Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Project 6T71-MC00009.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, 221 Columbus Avenue, #601, Boston, MA, 02116, USA

    Emily Kroshus MPH

  2. Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, 333 Longwood Ave., #634, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    S. Bryn Austin ScD

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  1. Emily Kroshus MPH
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Correspondence to Emily Kroshus MPH .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Catherine M. Gordon

  2. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Meryl S. LeBoff

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Kroshus, E., Austin, S.B. (2015). Definition and Epidemiology of the Female Athlete Triad. In: Gordon, C., LeBoff, M. (eds) The Female Athlete Triad. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7525-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7525-6_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-7524-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-7525-6

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