MENSTRUAL STATUS DIFFERENCES OF ELITE TURKISH FEMALE ATHLETES FROM VARIOUS TEAM SPORTS

The aim of this study was to analyze the menstrual status of elite Turkish female athletes from different team sports. The study universe was composed of elite female athletes playing in basketball, soccer, field hockey and handball teams in the Turkish Premier League and Turkish Super League. The study sample consisted of 133 randomly-selected female athletes playing in soccer (n=33), basketball (n=29), handball (n=27) and field hockey (n= 44) teams competing in these leagues. An 37-item questionnaire was administered to collect data on the demographic and menstrual status of participants. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient was found 0.78 for the questionnaire. Frequency distributions of the study data were calculated on the basis of two or more variables. A chi-square test was applied to some items and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to unrelated samples. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 10.0. No significant relationship was found between menstrual disorders and sport branches (χ=3.893, p>.05). A significant relationship was detected between sports branches and changes to the menstrual cycle related to sporting activity (χ=12.165, p .05). A statistically-significant relationship was found between sports branches and the effects of menstruation on the sports activity in favor of the female athletes who stated that they were psychologically affected by menstruation (χ=15.53, p<.05) and that they experienced psychological symptoms related to menstruation (χ=15.53, p<.05). It is concluded that sports activities can affect the menstrual-cycle and that, among elite Turkish female athletes, such effects occur most commonly as psychological symptoms.