What should be included in the differential diagnoses of amenorrhea with normal puberty?

Answer

Amenorrhea with normal puberty

Frequently, pubertal development occurs at a normal rate, but primary amenorrhea may occur and may be associated with hirsutism. These individuals are eugonadal. The most common cause in this setting is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is characterized by anovulation, oligo-ovulation, androgen excess (clinical or biochemical), ultrasonographic demonstration of increased ovarian stroma and accumulation of antral follicles (polycystic appearance), and obesity.^[43]

Ovarian hyperthecosis results in hyperandrogenicity, which is evident by signs of hirsutism, acne, and obesity and can be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus and acanthosis nigricans. Hyperthecosis can also cause virilization, which manifests as clitoromegaly, temporal balding, and deepened voice change. See Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome for an in-depth discussion of this entity.

Another cause of hirsutism is the rare late-onset 21-hydroxylase deficiency, which is caused by mutations in the 21-hydroxylase gene that result in excessive 17-hydroxyprogesterone levels. This deficiency is also termed non classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia and can occur in 1-10% of women with hirsutism.

Rarely, patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea may have hyperandrogenic/polycystic ovaries. Wang et al explored the coexistence of these 2 disorders in women with hypothalamic amenorrhea/PCOS, and found that over time, these patients may fluctuate between symptoms of hypothalamic amenorrhea and polycystic ovarian syndrome, depending on the status of their hypothalamic activity.^[44]

Other causes of hyperandrogenism include Cushing disease, ovarian stromal hypertrophy, and androgen-producing tumors of the ovary and adrenal glands. Exogenous anabolic steroid use should be considered in the differential for hyperandrogenic amenorrhea.

Anovulation remains the most common cause of amenorrhea in the setting of nonvirilization. Anovulation is caused by dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, which can be apparent after discontinuation of various hormonal contraception medications and can result in loss of menses for several months. It is often associated with a hypothalamic hypogonadotropic etiology.

Premature ovarian failure can be idiopathic, secondary to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or autoimmune in origin. The idiopathic form occurs in 1% of women younger than 40 years.

Premature ovarian failure is more accurately termed primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) because women with spontaneous POI may have intermittent ovarian function, and, as a group, demonstrate a pregnancy rate of 5-10%.^[45](For an in-depth discussion, see Spontaneous Primary Ovarian Insufficiency and Premature Ovarian Failure].)

Prodromal POI is a state of ovarian insufficiency in which FSH levels are elevated and menses are irregular but not to the degree required to make a diagnosis of overt POI. This is likely on a continuum with diminished ovarian reserve (a state in which women respond poorly to exogenous gonadotropin stimulation) and overt POI (a state of drastically reduced fertility).

Hyperprolactinemia is a pituitary cause of amenorrhea in the presence of normal puberty. Hyperprolactinemia can occur as a consequence of breastfeeding, microadenomas of the pituitary, and use of psychoactive medications (eg, haloperidol, phenothiazines, amitriptyline, benzodiazepines, cocaine, marijuana) and metoclopramide (Reglan).

Amenorrhea may be caused by thyroid disorders, including hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism can occur from the same causes as delayed puberty. In addition, Sheehan syndrome, which results from panhypopituitarism after pituitary infarction from postpartum hemorrhage or shock, can manifest as pubertal amenorrhea.

Amenorrhea that results from genital tract anomalies can arise from the absence of reproductive organs. Mayer-Rokitansky-Hauser syndrome is an anomaly of the genital tract characterized by vaginal agenesis. The uterus is usually absent, and the vagina is foreshortened.

Because the ovaries function normally and produce E₂, breasts are normal in shape and contour. Pubarche is also normal in this patient population; therefore, pubic hair remains normal. Mayer-Rokitansky-Hauser syndrome accounts for 15% of primary amenorrhea cases and is second to Turner syndrome as the most common cause of primary amenorrhea.

Androgen insensitivity syndrome (previously termed testicular feminization) is present in 10% of patients with amenorrhea. Androgen insensitivity syndrome is caused by an abnormality of the androgen receptor. The gonads are testicles producing testosterone; however, testosterone has no effect because the androgen receptor is nonfunctional.

The phenotypic appearance in patients with this condition is female, but the circulating hormonal pattern is male. Androgen insensitivity syndrome is a maternal X-linked recessive disease in which the testes remain intra-abdominal or partially descended, and pubic hair is sparse.

Spontaneous testicular regression is a rare disorder of genetic males that results in a female phenotype with an absent uterus. In addition, certain enzyme deficiencies affecting androgen production can result in male pseudohermaphrodites. All disorders that are pheno typically female but chromosomally male (XY) require that the gonads be removed to avert cancerous changes.

Primary amenorrhea can result from an imperforate hymen, which presents as a boggy uterus and cyclic abdominal pain. Asherman syndrome occurs after an overzealous curettage of the endometrial lining, which results in adhesions or synechiae that prevent the endometrium from responding to estradiol. The diagnosis is suggested by absence of endometrial stripe on uterine ultrasonography and confirmed by hysteroscopy evaluation or by absence of bleeding after cyclic therapy with estrogen and later progestin for several weeks.

A case report has been published of a woman in whom persistent secondary amenorrhea developed due to intrauterine adhesions after selective embolization of the uterine arteries for control of refractory primary postpartum hemorrhage. Adverse effects of these new lifesaving technologies remain to be evaluated long term.^[46]

Clinically significant infections that destroy the endometrial lining can also result in primary or secondary amenorrhea.

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Hypothalamus, pituitary and ovaries form a functional endocrine axis, known as HPO axis with hormonal regulations and feedback loops.
Primary amenorrhea flowchart.

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Author

Kristi A Tough DeSapri, MD Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of Comprehensive Bone Center, University of Chicago Medicine Women's Care

Kristi A Tough DeSapri, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, North American Menopause Society

Disclosure: Serve(d) as a speaker or a member of a speakers bureau for: Amgen and AMAG pharmaceuticals.

Chief Editor

Richard Scott Lucidi, MD, FACOG Associate Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Richard Scott Lucidi, MD, FACOG is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Kenneth M Bielak, MD Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine

Kenneth M Bielak, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Family Physicians, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Gayla S Harris, MD Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center Graduate School of Medicine

Gayla S Harris, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Society for Reproductive Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

Elizabeth Alderman, MD Director of Fellowship Training Program, Director of Adolescent Ambulatory Service, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Children's Hospital at Montefiore

Elizabeth Alderman, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Pediatric Society, North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, and Society for Adolescent Medicine

Disclosure: Merck Honoraria Speaking and teaching

A David Barnes, MD, PhD, MPH, FACOG Consulting Staff, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mammoth Hospital (Mammoth Lakes, California), Pioneer Valley Hospital (Salt Lake City, Utah), Warren General Hospital (Warren, Pennsylvania), and Mountain West Hospital (Tooele, Utah)

A David Barnes, MD, PhD, MPH, FACOG is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Forensic Examiners, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Medical Association, Association of Military Surgeons of the US, and Utah Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Karim Anton Calis, PharmD, MPH, FASHP, FCCP Adjunct Clinical Investigator, Program in Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health; Clinical Professor, Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy; Clinical Professor, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Karim Anton Calis, PharmD, MPH, FASHP, FCCP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Clinical Pharmacy, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and Endocrine Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Sharon N Covington, LCSW-C, BCD Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Georgetown University School of Medicine; Associate Investigator, Integrative Reproductive Medicine Unit, Reproductive Biology and Medicine Branch, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health; Private Practice, Covington and Hafkin and Associates; Director of Psychological Support Services, Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Science Center

Sharon N Covington, LCSW-C, BCD is a member of the following medical societies: Academy of Certified Social Workers, American Orthopsychiatric Association, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, National Association of Social Workers, and Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Lawrence M Nelson, MD, MBA Head of Integrative Reproductive Medicine Group, Intramural Research Program on Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health

Lawrence M Nelson, MD, MBA is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Endocrine Society, and Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Vaishali Popat, MD, MPH Clinical Investigator, Intramural Research Program on Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health

Vaishali Popat, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Physicians and Endocrine Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Thomas Michael Price, MD Associate Professor, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellowship Program, Duke University Medical Center

Thomas Michael Price, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Medical Association, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Endocrine Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Society for Gynecologic Investigation, Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and South Carolina Medical Association

Disclosure: Clinical Advisors Group Consulting fee Consulting; MEDA Corp Consulting Consulting fee Consulting; Gerson Lehrman Group Advisor Consulting fee Consulting; Adiana Grant/research funds PI

Tamara Prodanov, MD Research Assistant, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Shannon D Sullivan, MD, PhD Staff Physician, Department of Endocrinology, Washington Hospital Center

Shannon D Sullivan, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, American Thyroid Association, and Endocrine Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose. Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

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Suzanne R Trupin, MD, FACOG Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign; CEO and Owner, Women's Health Practice; CEO and Owner, Hada Cosmetic Medicine and Midwest Surgical Center

Suzanne R Trupin, MD, FACOG is a member of the following medical societies: American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, American Medical Association, Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and North American Menopause Society

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Somya Verma, MD, Fellow in Pediatric Endocrinology, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development; Officer of United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

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Wayne Wolfram, MD, MPH Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Mercy St Vincent Medical Center

Wayne Wolfram, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

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Andrea L Zuckerman, MD Assistant Professor of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine; Division Director, Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center

Andrea L Zuckerman, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Massachusetts Medical Society, North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, and Society for Adolescent Medicine

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What should be included in the differential diagnoses of amenorrhea with normal puberty?

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