ArticleSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2026
Menstrual Cycle-Related Symptoms and Disorders and Their Impact on Physical, Psychosocial, and Environmental Determinants of Exercise Performance: A Scoping Review.
Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phase, Symptoms, Motivation, and Readiness to Perform on Resistance Training Performance.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Menstrual-Related Symptoms, Early Menarche, and Their Impact on Sport Participation in Adolescent Floorball Players: A Cross-Sectional Study in Sweden.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMenstrual cycle (MC)-related symptoms and disorders are common in female athletes, but their effects on exercise performance remain insufficiently characterized. Growing evidence highlights that physical, psychosocial, and environmental determinants should be seen as interrelated performance-influencing domains.
objectiveThe objective of this scoping review was to synthesize the current evidence on the influence of MC-related symptoms and disorders on exercise performance within a biopsychosocial and environmental framework. Its aims were to (1) examine the physical determinants of subjective and objective performance outcomes, (2) explore psychosocial and environmental moderators, (3) identify variations across sport types and athlete levels, and (4) appraise methodological approaches and limitations.
methodsA total of 31 studies (from 2003 to January 2025) meeting the Population-Concept-Context criteria (nonhormonal contraceptive users-analysis of MC-related symptoms/disorders and physical, psychosocial, or environmental determinants of exercise performance-any sport type or activity level) were identified by systematic search of the PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases. The extracted data covered study characteristics, outcomes, and assessment methods.
resultsMC-related symptoms and disorders were consistently linked to perceived performance impairment, although the evidence on the objective outcomes was heterogeneous. The methodological quality of the included studies (assessed using a modified Downs and Black checklist) was generally low because most relied on non-validated tools or lacked hormonal concentration measurements to confirm the MC phase, thus limiting comparability. Psychosocial (motivation, anxiety, stigma) and environmental (clothing, sanitary facilities) factors amplify the MC effect on performance, but these factors remain underexplored.
conclusionsThe available data suggest that MC symptom burden could be a major determinant of perceived exercise performance impairment. Future research should adopt an integrative design that combines physical, psychosocial, and environmental perspectives and standardized symptom assessments to advance evidence-based, context-sensitive approaches in female sport.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41790346What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.