Amenorrhea is the absence of menstruation. It refers to missing periods in a female age 16 or older.
Alternative Names:
Primary amenorrhea; No periods; Absent periods; Absent menses
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Most girls begin menstruating between ages 9 and 18, with an average around 12 years old. Primary amenorrhea is not considered to have occurred until a girl is beyond age 16, if she has undergone other normal changes that occur during puberty. Primary amenorrhea may occur with or without other signs of puberty.
There are many possible causes of primary amenorrhea:
Drastic weight reduction (from poverty, fad dieting, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, very strenuous exercise, or other cause)
Malnutrition
Extreme obesity
Chronic (long term) illnesses
Genital abnormalities present since birth (absence of the uterus or vagina, vaginal septum, cervical stenosis, imperforate hymen)
Review Date: 5/10/2006
Reviewed By: Melanie N. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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Adolescent Gynecology
