News Room

"The reason we are so concerned about irregular menstrual cycles in teen girls is that they can be a warning sign of an underlying disturbance in hormonal balance," says S. Bryn Austin, ScD, a public health researcher in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children's. "Given that adolescence is the period of peak bone development and that normal hormonal functioning is essential for healthy bone growth, we are especially worried that these girls may be setting themselves up for a host of health problems, including low bone density, stress fractures, and osteoporosis later in life."

Austin sees her findings as a wake-up call to clinicians, parents, school staff, and even friends of teen girls: If a girl's menstrual cycles are irregular, she may be using vomiting as a method of weight control and may be disrupting her hormonal balance in ways that could weaken her bones.

"A girl may keep her vomiting a secret from everyone, but she may talk about having irregular periods with her clinician, parents, or friends," says Austin. "If we can recognize warning signs like these, we can take this opportunity to help girls get the right kind of treatment they may need for symptoms of bulimia."

The screening program was carried out in high schools across the country in 2000 by the national nonprofit organization Screening for Mental Health, based in Wellesley, MA, and funded by the McKnight Foundation.

Children's Hospital Boston is one of the nation's premier pediatric medical centers. Founded in 1869 as a 20-bed hospital for children, today it is a 397-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, the largest provider of health care to the children of Massachusetts, and home to the world's leading pediatric research enterprise. For more information about Children's, visit: www.childrenshospital.org/newsroom.