The medical term for an absent period for at least three consecutive months is secondary amenorrhea, according to the National Institutes of Health. It’s not exactly a disease in itself, but a symptom of another health problem.
Not all hormonal changes are necessarily a bad thing (exhibit A: pregnancy). Still, it’s good to rule out possible conditions that might be causing secondary amenorrhea. In this video, learn some potential explanations for a missing period.
References
Fourman L, et al. (2015). Neuroendocrine causes of amenorrhea — an update. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism;100(3):812-24.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2017). What causes amenorrhea?
Harvard Medical School. (2019). Amenorrhea.
Kopp, W, et al. (1997). Low leptin levels predict amenorrhea in underweight and eating disordered females. Molecular Psychiatry;2(4):335-40.
MedlinePlus. (2022). Absent menstrual periods - secondary.
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. (2023). Ovarian Cancer Staging.
La Torre, D, et al. (2007). Pharmacological causes of hyperprolactinemia. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management;3(5):929-51.
Reed, BG, et al. (2015). The Normal Menstrual Cycle and the Control of Ovulation. Endotext.
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