Derek Llewellyn-Jones

Body weight, exercise and menstrual status among ballet dancers in training

Summary. A prospective study of the menstrual pattern and weight changes was made in the first year of training of 29 new female entrants to a professional ballet school. Seventy‐nine per cent of the student girls had menstrual disturbances at entry: primary amenorrhoea, four; secondary amenorrhoea, 11; irregular menses, eight. The incidence of secondary amenorrhoea increase substantially by the end of the year (20), but was not associated with any significant change in body weight. Only three students menstruated regularly during the year. Menstrual regularity improved during periods of injury and long vacation and it appears that deterioration of the menstrual pattern during dancing periods was related to strenuous physical exercise rather than to any change in body weight.

Bulimia: A study of outcome

The outcome of 43 bulimia patients was assessed 14 to 72 months after presenting for treatment. Outcome was assessed in four ways: clinical interview, self-completion of a questionnaire, self-rating, and the Eating Visual Analogue (EVA). The study suggests that despite the inherent problems associated with the different methods of assessment, 29% -42 % of patients could be considered “cured.” Only commencement of binge eating before 16 years was indicative of a good outcome.

The Psychosexual Histories of Young Women with Bulimia

While it is known that anorexia nervosa patients show a wide range of sexual knowledge, attitudes and practices, the psychosexual histories of bulimia patients have not been studied. in this paper the psychosexual histories of 20 bulimic patients and 20 matched control subjects are presented. Bulimic patients were more likely to experience orgasm with masturbation, were more likely to have experimented with anal intercourse, and were more ilkely to describe their libido as ‘above average’. Control subjects were more likely to experience orgasm during sexual intercourse. Bulimic patients associated high body weights with unattractiveness, and tended to withdraw from social and sexual activity at high weights. In other aspects of their sexual behaviour, and in their attitudes to sexual matters, the two groups were similar.

Should ovulation be induced in women recovering from an eating disorder or who are compulsive exercisers

The eating and exercise history of women with secondary amenorrhea and failure of ovulation using CC was studied in 14 consecutive women on a GnRH-a program. All had a history of an eating or exercise disorder. At the time of the interview, 7 women continued to have an eating or exercise disorder. There were 15 pregnancies (12 women) with 12 live births, of which 4 weighed less than 2,500 g. Infertility specialists should inquire routinely about a womans body weight and eating and exercise behaviors, and consider treatment for these before prescribing drugs to induce ovulation.

Utilization of a single antiserum for the direct radioimmunoassay of prostaglandins E and F in semen and prostaglandin F in amniotic fluid

Abstract Antibodies to both prostaglandin F (PGF) and prostaglandin E (PGE) were raised in rabbits after they were immunized with prostaglandin F2a conjugated to bovine serum albumin (PGF2a - BSA). The antisera were group specific although the antibodies to the F group of prostaglandins showed greater specificity than those to the E group. The antisera were sufficiently specific however to allow the direct radioimmunoassay of PGF and PGE in human semen and PGF in amniotic fluid during induced abortion. Specificity of the direct radioimmunoassay was checked by chromatographic separation of the prostaglandins prior to analysis. Estimation of the prostaglandins in the semen of 30 men attending the infertility clinic showed that 19 of the men had normal semen levels of PGE and PGF of 68± 7(SE) and 6.0 ±0.6 μg/ml respectively, as compared with data on normal fertile males, whilst the other 11 men had lower levels of 16 ±2 (SE) and 0.8±0.1 μg/ml respectively. Application of the method to amniotic fluid showed that the PGF concentration in amniotic fluid during the induction of abortion with extra-ovular saline increased from less than 0.6 ng/ml to 6.4 ng/ml when the induction-abortion intervals ranged from 6–48 hours.

Inhibition of lactation.

The mechanism and hormonal regulation of lactation is explained and illustrated with a schematic representation. Circulating estrogen above a critical amount seems to be the inhibitory factor controlling lactation during pregnancy. Once delivery occurs, the level of estrogen falls, that of prolactin rises, and lactation begins. Nonsuckling can be used to inhibit lactation. Estrogens can also be used to inhibit lactation more quickly and with less pain. The reported association between estrogens and puerperal thromboembolism cannot be considered conclusive due to defects in the reporting studies. There is no reason not to use estrogens in lactation inhibition except for women over 35 who experienced a surgical delivery. Alternative therapy is available for these women. The recently-developed drug, brom-ergocryptine, may replace other methods of lactation inhibition.

Menstrual protection. Young women's knowledge, practice and attitudes

A gynaecological history may necessitate enquiries about menstrual protection. The use of and attitudes to menstrual protection of 1377 young women (15-19 years) were investigated. Most young women (84%) used pads for their first few menstrual periods. At the time of survey 34% were using tampons regularly although 64% had tried and found them too difficult to insert. Tampons were the preferred type of menstrual protection. Although mothers were the first source of information about menstrual protection only 25% had explained to their daughters how to use a tampon.Information about Toxic Shock Syndrome had little effect on the use of tampons, over half the women failing to remove a tampon within the 5 h recommended by manufacturers and only 12 subjects ceasing to use tampons.Women who use tampons were older, had a knowledge of menstruation and had no desire to change their type of menstrual protection. Those women who preferred to insert a tampon digitally rather than using an applicator held few misconce...

Menstruation and the Menstrual Cycle: Knowledge and Attitudes of Mothers and Daughters

SynopsisThe knowledge and attitudes to menstruation in 53 mothers and their teenage daughters were studied. This generation of teenagers is more likely to receive information about menstruation before menarche than their mothers. Although mothers have a greater knowledge of menstrual cycle related matters, the knowledge of both mothers and their daughters is poor. Daughters had similar attitudes to their mothers but showed independence in the type of menstrual protection chosen.Mothers and daughters differed markedly in their menstrual cycle related symptons, mothers complaining of premenstrual problems, particularly abdominal bloating and breast tenderness, while daughters complained of menstrual cramps and premenstrual acne.

Psychosomatic factors in the choice of infant feeding — a pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to examine factors which are associated with choice of infant feeding, particularly those of a psychosomatic nature. Of the 63 primiparous women who took part in the study, 85% chose to breast feed at 3-5 days post partum and 78% were continuing to breast feed in the fourth week post partum; 2 had been advised to discontinue for medical reasons. The results confirmed other studies which show breast feeding to be significantly more likely to be chosen by women who attend antenatal classes, are better educated, privately insured, of a higher socio-economic status, have themselves (and their husbands) been breast fed, have decided on the method of infant feeding before or in early pregnancy, prefer full rooming in with their babies and demand feeding.Additional psychological and psychosomatic factors emerged in the fourth week post partum. Women who bottle fed were more likely to have higher scores on measures of neuroticism, psychoticism as measured by the Eysenck Personality...