Fécondité féminine et activité physique intense et répétéeFemale fertility and intensive physical activity

Aims – To estimate the effects of intensive physical activity on female fertility.Current knowledge – Since twenty to thirty years ago, women have regularly participated in intense physical sports. The first Olympic Marathon for women took place at Los Angeles (United-States) in 1984 and many clinical studies concerning the incidence of menstrual disturbances among sportswomen, were concomitant of the dramatic increase in female participation in endurance sports, either as recreational or professional sportswomen. Most of these studies were focused on secondary amenorrhea. Later, etiological studies have shown that a range of disturbances, from an apparently normal menstrual cycle, irregular menstruation, oligomenorrhea to the complete blockage of the ovarian function were observed.Points of views and plans – It is very likely that the physiological process leading to menstrual troubles among sportswomen include disturbances of GnRH pulsatility at hypothalamic level. It has been shown that a session of training at an intensity greater than 60% during at least 40 min leads to the secretion of neuromediators able to interfere with GnRH pulsatility. Repetitiveness of daily sessions of training (i.e., more than five sessions a week) associated with marginal energy intake or strictly vegetarian food may contribute to disturb the hypothalamo-pituitary-ovarian axis in female athletes.