Menstrual Cycle Disorders in Female Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Female athletes have a higher prevalence of menstrual disorders due to hormonal imbalances, often related to physical stress, low energy availability, and inadequate nutritional habits. These disorders can affect both health and athletic performance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of menstrual cycle disorders in female athletes and their relationship with nutritional variables. Design: Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study based on an anonymous online questionnaire administered to female athletes aged 18–55 years (n = 418; average age = 28 ± 9 years). Methods: The questionnaire collected self-reported data on menstrual cycle characteristics, diet, supplementation, and training-related habits. Chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact test, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for statistical analysis, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Premenstrual symptoms were reported by 57.0% of participants, regular clot presence by 27.4%, and cycle irregularities by 22.8%. In unadjusted analyses, self-reported dietary balance was associated with cycle regularity and bleeding duration; after false discovery rate correction, only the association with altered bleeding duration (binary coding) remained statistically significant. No clear associations were observed between sports frequency and menstrual cycle alterations. Conclusions: Menstrual disorders were common among female athletes. Although an association between self-reported dietary balance and bleeding duration persisted after correction for multiple comparisons, it derived from an exploratory binary recoding and warrants cautious interpretation. These findings may help guide future research on nutrition and menstrual health in female athletes.