Study Design: Retrospective. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and associations of disordered eating (DE), menstrual dysfunction (MD), and musculoskeletal injury (MI) among high school female athletes. Background: The female athlete triad (Triad) is a syndrome concerning the interrelatedness of DE, MD and low bone mass. Few studies have examined two or more Triad components simultaneously, or their relationship to injury, among female high school athletes. Methods: The subject sample consisted of 334 surveys completed by female athletes competing on 33 interscholastic high school teams during the 2006-2007 school year. Athletes completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Health Wisconsin High School Female Athletes Survey (HWHSFAS). Athletes were classified by sport type as aesthetic (AES), endurance (END), or team/anaerobic (T/A). Results: Of the athletes surveyed, 34.7% reported DE, 18.9% reported MD and 64.7% sustained a sports-related musculoskeletal injury. Athletes reporting DE were two times more likely to incur an injury than those reporting normal eating behaviors. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that athletes who reported a history of DE or prior injuriy were more likely to report an injury during the sports season. Conclusion: Our findings indicate a high prevalence of DE and MD among female athletes at the high school level. In addition, athletes with disordered eating are over 2 times more likely to sustain a sports-related injury during the current sports season. Therefore, screening and intervention programs designed to identify and decrease the prevalence of DE should be implemented at the high school level.
