Table 2. Hormones, markers of inflammation and endothelial function in serum of female athletes with menstrual disorders (MD), regular menstrual cycles (E), or hormonal contraceptive (HC) users. Data are means (± SD) or median and range.
Hormone MD a
(n = 10)
E b
(n = 13)
HC c
(n = 16)
Normal Range
Estradiol (pmol·L-1) 378 (117) 330 (143) 323 (198) 110–1470
Progesterone (nmol·L-1) 3.56 (1.23) c 3.15 (.62) c 2.60 (1.03) a,b < 3.2
LH (IU·L-1) 6.4 (1.5-17.1) 6.8 (4.0-14.1) 2.5 (1.1-17.1) 1.7–15
FSH (IU·L-1) 4.7 (2.7-6.1) 4.2 (2.7-6.4) 3.5 (1.6-15.0) 1.8–11.2
Leptin (ng·mL-1) 6.5 (1.7-16.1) 6.8 (2.1-22.8) 12.3 (4.3-27.9) 2.5–9.0
Cortisol (nmol·L-1) 1137 ± 448 c 1068 ± 379 c 1653 ± 276 a,b 170–860
PTH (ng·L-1) 47 (12) 42 (19) 43 (24) 10–65
Prolactin(pmol·L-1) 503 (261-1043) 565 (274-1710) 636 (270-1913) < 4000
TNF-a (pg·mL-1) 19.1 (17.9-33.2)c 12.4 (6.7-33.1) c 34.9 (18.6-43.1) a,b <2
CRP (mg·L-1) .50 (0-5.76) c 2.40 (0-13.41) c 4.42 (0-13.87) a,b <10
IL-6 (pg·mL-1) 7.1 (2.9-12.4) 9.1 (2.2-36.8) 11.5 (3.5-88.7) <150
sVCAM-1 (ng·mL-1) 955 (572-1245) 1072 (753-1726) 970 (790-1194) 400-800
Superscripts denote significantly (p < 0.05) differences between the groups.