JOURNAL ARTICLE
OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

The LEAF questionnaire: a screening tool for the identification of female athletes at risk for the female athlete triad.

BACKGROUND: Low energy availability (EA) in female athletes with or without an eating disorder (ED) increases the risk of oligomenorrhoea/functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea and impaired bone health, a syndrome called the female athlete triad (Triad). There are validated psychometric instruments developed to detect disordered eating behaviour (DE), but no validated screening tool to detect persistent low EA and Triad conditions, with or without DE/ED, is available.

AIM: The aim of this observational study was to develop and test a screening tool designed to identify female athletes at risk for the Triad.

METHODS: Female athletes (n=84) with 18-39 years of age and training ≥5 times/week filled out the Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q), which comprised questions regarding injuries and gastrointestinal and reproductive function. Reliability and internal consistency were evaluated in a subsample of female dancers and endurance athletes (n=37). Discriminant as well as concurrent validity was evaluated by testing self-reported data against measured current EA, menstrual function and bone health in endurance athletes from sports such as long distance running and triathlon (n=45).

RESULTS: The 25-item LEAF-Q produced an acceptable sensitivity (78%) and specificity (90%) in order to correctly classify current EA and/or reproductive function and/or bone health.

CONCLUSIONS: The LEAF-Q is brief and easy to administer, and relevant as a complement to existing validated DE screening instruments, when screening female athletes at risk for the Triad, in order to enable early detection and intervention.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app