Disorders Causing Scanty Menstruation
- One cause of hypomenorrhea is Asherman's syndrome (intrauterine adhesions), of which hypomenorrhea (or amenorrhea) may be the only apparent sign. The degree of menstrual deficiency is closely correlated to the extent of the adhesions.
- Uterine: Scanty loss sometimes means that the bleeding surface is smaller than normal, and is occasionally seen when the endometrial cavity has been reduced in size during myomectomy or other plastic operation on the uterus. However, it rarely indicates uterine hypoplasia because the presence of this condition in a uterus which is responsive to hormones indicates ovarian under-activity, and this manifests itself by infrequent rather than scanty menstruation.
- Nervous and emotional: Psychogenic factors such as stress due to exams, or excessive excitement about an upcoming event may cause hypomenorrhea. Such factors suppress the activity of the centers in the brain that stimulate the ovaries during the ovarian cycle (to secrete hormone like estrogen and progesterone), and may result in low production of these hormones.
- Low body fat: Excessive exercise and crash dieting can cause scanty menstrual periods when the proportion of body fat drops beneath a certain level. It may cause a total absence of periods (also called amenorrhea).
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