Amenorrhea may sound like a strange disease from another planet but it is, in fact, not a disease but a symptom. Strictly a female problem, amenorrhea means an absence of menstruation or period, and it affects about 10–15% of the total female population worldwide.1
It can be of two types: primary amenorrhea when your period doesn’t start and secondary amenorrhea when it stops suddenly.
Primary Amenorrhea: Why Hasn’t Your Period Started?
[pullquote]Primary amenorrhea: If you have reached 16 years of age or it’s been 2 years since you developed secondary sexual characters like breasts, but your period hasn’t yet started[/pullquote]
Primary amenorrhea often indicates abnormalities in the anatomy or malfunction of the ovaries.2 Lack of nutrition or a chronic illness can also affect the hormones that control your period cycle. Anatomic abnormalities include the absence of uterus in the body or conditions like gonadal dysgenesis or Müllerian agenesis.
1. Dysfunction Of The Ovaries (Gonadal Dysgenesis)
The most common cause of primary amenorrhea, gonadal dysgenesis, is the premature ovarian failure – where ovaries fail to function normally – in otherwise normal women. This is due to the failure of the gonads to develop or due to the resistance of gonadotropin stimulation.3
In gonadal dysgenesis, pubertal development is absent. The girl doesn’t develop any sexual characteristics like breast development. Gonadal dysgenesis is often characterized by Turner’s syndrome.4 In this case, the absence of menarche at 16 years or above is considered primary amenorrhea.
2. Underdeveloped Uterus And Vagina (Müllerian Agenesis)
Müllerian agenesis is another cause where the uterus and the upper two-thirds of the vagina are congenitally underdeveloped. In this case, since the ovaries develop normally, the patient will go through the normal pubertal development initially but fail to menstruate. They do develop breasts and exhibit other secondary sexual characteristics.5 In this case, the absence of menarche at 14 years of age or above is considered primary amenorrhea.
Secondary Amenorrhea: 9 Reasons Your Period Has Stopped
[pullquote]Secondary amenorrhea: If you have a normal menstrual cycle and are not pregnant or close to menopause but have missed your periods 3 times in a row 6[/pullquote]
1. Birth Control
Once pregnancy and any illnesses are ruled out, you could consider the possibility of amenorrhea from using birth control pills.7 Post-pill amenorrhea is the failure to resume menstruation within six months of discontinuing contraceptive pills.
2. Improper Weight
Are you overweight? If yes, you could experience amenorrhea from the fat cells interfering with ovulation.8 Not just overweight, even undernutrition is seen as a possible cause of amenorrhea. It is prevalent in people with eating disorders or those in professions where thinness is appreciated. In a study done to assess amenorrhea among female ballet dancers, it was found that restricting diet coupled with increased activity, contributed to their condition.9
3. Stress
Stress also contributes to it. Studies on college population have found that restricted diet, increased physical activity coupled with college stress accounted for cases of amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea (infrequent menstrual periods).10
4. Too Much Exercise
Exercising too much? That could also be a cause for infrequent menstruation or the periods stopping unexpectedly. This is evident from increased cases of amenorrhea among marathon runners.11
5. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
PCOS affects 4 to 12 percent women of reproductive age.12 PCOS can result in hormonal imbalance in the body resulting in ovarian cysts. These cysts can prevent menstruation.
6. Hypothalamic Amenorrhea Or Hypothalamic Hypogonadism
Hypothalamic amenorrhea, or hypothalamic hypogonadism is another cause. If the body fails to produce enough GnRH, it could leave the whole menstruation process in a tizzy resulting in very low production of FSH, LH and estrogen. Result? No periods!13
7. Hyperprolactinemia
Secondary amenorrhea could also be an indicator that you could be having hyperprolactinemia or an elevated level of prolactin in your blood. Prolactin is a pituitary hormone when produced in excess, could lead to cessation of menses.14 Do not ignore the possibility of a pituitary tumor in cases of amenorrhea.15
8. Hypothyroidism
Thyroid deficiency or hypothyroidism is also considered a reason why menstruation stops in women.16
9. Premature Ovarian Failure
Another cause of secondary amenorrhea is the premature ovarian failure where there are low levels of gonadal hormones and high levels of gonadotropins–FSH and LH.17 Premature ovarian failure could also be a cause of primary amenorrhea.
If you are going through amenorrhea and pregnancy is ruled out completely, you need to treat it as a symptom of an underlying disease or a wrong lifestyle decision you have taken. In any case, it calls for a thorough physical examination and an expert intervention.
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