Oligomenorrhea

Definition

Medical dictionaries define oligomenorrhea as infrequent or very light menstruation. But physicians typically apply a narrower definition, restricting the diagnosis of oligomenorrhea to women whose periods were regularly established before they developed problems with infrequent flow. With oligomenorrhea, menstrual periods occur at intervals of greater than 35 days, with only four to nine periods in a year.

Description

True oligomenorrhea can not occur until menstrual periods have been established. In the United States, 97.5% of women have begun normal menstrual cycles by age 16. The complete absence of menstruation, whether menstrual periods never start or whether they stop after having been established, is called amenorrhea. Oligomenorrhea can become amenorrhea if menstruation stops for six months or more.

It is quite common...

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