Female athlete triad screening in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes: is the preparticipation evaluation form effective? Clin J Sport Med 2012 Mar;22(2):122-5
Date
01/24/2012Pubmed ID
22266742DOI
10.1097/JSM.0b013e3182425aeeScopus ID
2-s2.0-84858076443 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 40 CitationsAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the screening practices and preparticipation evaluation (PPE) forms used to identify college athletes at risk for the female athlete triad (triad).
DESIGN: Phone and/or e-mail survey.
SETTING: National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I universities.
PARTICIPANTS: All 347 NCAA Division I universities were invited to participate in a survey, with 257 participating in the survey (74%) and 287 forms collected (83%).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Information about the nature of the PPE was requested from team physicians and certified athletic trainers during a phone or e-mail survey. In addition, a copy of their PPE form was requested to evaluate for inclusion of the 12 items recommended by the Female Athlete Triad Coalition for primary screening for the triad.
RESULTS: All 257 universities (100%) required a PPE for incoming athletes; however, only 83 universities (32%) required an annual PPE for returning athletes. Screening was performed on campus at 218 universities (85%). Eleven universities (4%) were using the recently updated fourth edition PPE. Only 25 universities (9%) had 9 or more of the 12 recommended items included in their forms, whereas 127 universities (44%) included 4 or less items. Relevant items that were omitted from more than 40% of forms included losing weight to meet the image requirements of a sport; using vomiting, diuretics, and/or laxatives to lose weight; and the number of menses experienced in the past 12 months.
CONCLUSIONS: The current PPE forms used by NCAA Division I universities may not effectively screen for the triad.
Author List
Mencias T, Noon M, Hoch AZMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AthletesFeeding and Eating Disorders
Female
Humans
Mass Screening
Menstruation Disturbances
Osteoporosis
Students
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States
Universities
