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During the period January, 1978 to June, 1979, a total of 900 college students was seen in a university student health center. Among these, 14.6% (131/900) had menstrual disorders. Oligomenorrhea or secondary amenorrhea, the chief complaint in 72.5% (95/131) students, accounted for 10.6% (95/900) of the total population. When a selected group of students with oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea was investigated, most had elevated levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and normal/low levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) suggestive of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO). The significance of these findings in the development of oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea and PCO under stress is discussed.This paper examines the prevalence and types of menstruation disorders among 900 female students attending the student health service of a large coeducational university during the period 1/78 to 6/79. Each student was subjected to a careful history and physical examination as well as counseling with regard to the physiology of menstrual cycle and possible causes. Laboratory tests for pituitary, ovarian, thyroid, and adrenal function were performed, and blood samples were collected and assayed for various hormones. Of the 900 students, 131 (14.6%) complained of menstrual disorders unrelated to oral contraceptive use. 90 (72.5%) out of the 131 had oligomenorrhea or secondary amenorrhea and accounted for 10.6% of all women visiting the student health service. The onset of oligomenorrhea or amenorrhea was not associated with oral contraceptive use. Based on clinical features and gonadotropin values, 3 groups of oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea patients were identified: group 1, hypogonadotropic associated with simple weight loss (n=1); group 2, normagonadotropic of unknown etiology (n=6); and group 3, elevated luteinizing hormone with normal/low follicle-stimulating hormone suggestive of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCO) (n=12). The true incidence of PCO in this series is not known because of the incomplete endocrine profile of the college students. Stressful events (physical, emotional, social) and/or the competitive life style at the college campus may contribute to the incidence of oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea, but carefully designed prospective studies are needed to substantiate this.

Following unilateral oophorectomy of adult rats with persistent vaginal estrus and polycystic ovaries induced by constant light (constant-light rats), the compensatory hypertrophy of the remaining ovary one month later was significantly less (P < 0.001) than that observed in control rats subjected to a light-dark schedule. No corpora lutea were found in the remaining ovary of the constant-light rats operated upon. Diestrous smears were observed in some instances following unilateral oophorectomy of the constant-light rats, but they eventually became continuously cornified. When a group of constant-light rats was injected, after unilateral oophorectomy, with 20 I.U. of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) on day 3, 7, or 21 postoperatively, all the animals had ovulated, the average number of oviductal ova per rat being 4, 2.5, and 6.6, respectively. Possible mechanisms of the decreased ovarian compensation following unilateral oophorectomy of the constant-light rat are discussed.

Adult albino rats with regular estrous cycles were exposed to continuous auditory stimuli (2,000 cycles per second; 100 ± 10 decibels on weighting C) for up to 150 days. Of the total of 74 rats, 31 (41.9 per cent) developed persistent vaginal estrus, as defined by a minimum of 10 consecutive days of fully cornified estrous smears, the highest incidence (66.6 per cent) being seen after 150 days of auditory stimuli. With increasing duration of auditory stress in persistent-estrus rats, there was an increase in the relative weights of the uteri and a decrease of the adrenals and ovaries, but no significant changes in the weights of the anterior pituitary glands were evident. In the ovaries of sound-exposed rats with irregular estrous smears, different types of follicles or many corpora lutea were present. With the development of persistent estrus subsequently, only polycystic follicles but no corpora lutea were found. It is postulated that certain auditory stimuli may be deleterious to the neuroendocrine mechanism of reproduction in the mammals.