The broader implications of menstrual health in eating disorders: Matters Arising from Porter (2025)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Menstrual disturbances are a common yet often overlooked feature of eating disorders, impacting individuals across diagnostic categories and age groups. This Matters Arising piece responds to Porter (2025), a survivor-led qualitative study highlighting that menstruation is often treated as a simple health indicator, with little attention to emotional or psychosocial aspects. Specifically, I discuss broader intersections between eating disorder pathology and menstrual health, including functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, oligomenorrhea and menopause-related changes, illustrating how menstrual irregularities reflect disruptions in hormonal and metabolic regulation and carry psychological and identity-related implications. Current clinical approaches frequently overlook these dimensions, focusing narrowly on the presence or absence of menstruation rather than holistic well-being. Drawing on research evidence and clinical experience, I recommend a patient-centred approach that includes routine assessment of menstrual history and symptoms, integration of menstrual considerations into nutritional, medical and psychological treatment plans and sensitive communication regarding emotional and identity-related experiences. Interdisciplinary collaboration and further research are essential to better understand menstrual experiences across the lifespan. Recognising menstrual health as a meaningful component of overall treatment can enhance recovery and provide more comprehensive, empathetic care. Menstrual health is an important but often overlooked part of care for people with eating disorders. This article responds to a recent survivor-led study by Porter (2025), which found that eating disorder inpatient services often viewed menstruation simply as a sign of physical recovery, with little attention to the emotional or personal meaning of these changes. Building on these findings, this Matters Arising article discusses how eating disorders can affect menstrual cycles in different ways, including missed or irregular periods (amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea respectively) and changes related to menopause. These menstrual disruptions are linked to changes in hormones, metabolism and mental health, and can influence how people feel about their bodies and recovery. Despite this, menstrual health is seemingly rarely discussed in a sensitive or holistic way in treatment. This Matters Arising article recommends that clinicians communicate about menstrual health more openly, assess it regularly and consider it in medical, nutritional and psychological care. A more compassionate and comprehensive approach could improve recovery and overall well-being for people with eating disorders. Collaboration between different health professionals and more research are much needed to better understand how menstrual health is affected by the various types of eating disorders at different stages of life.
Source: Journal of Eating Disorders
Author: Gemma Sharp
Institutions: Monash University, Western Sydney University
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,190
OpenAlex ID: W7118158359