Korean J Obstet Gynecol.
1999 May;42(5):975-980.
Clinical Characteristics of Amenorrhea According to the Etiological Classification
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the causes of amenorrhea in Korean women.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Total 158 patients with amenorrhea who visited the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Asan Medical Center were included in this study between July 1989 and December 1997. Patients were divided into two main groups: primary amenorrhea group and secondary amenorrhea group. They were classified according to the causes of amenorrhea.
RESULTS
The number of patients with primary amenorrhea was 14 [8.9%] and the number of patients with secondary amenorrhea was 144 [91.1%]. The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was not different between the two groups. Six of 14 patients with primary amenorrhea and 3 of 144 with secondary amenorrhea were found to have chromosomal abnormalities. The causes of primary amenorrhea were as follows: 1] central lesions that all were Kallmann`s syndromes [14.3% [2/14]], 2] gonadal lesions [64.3% [9/14]] which were composed of Turner`s syndromes [28.6% [4/14]], Swyer syndromes [7.1% [1/14]], testicular feminization [TF] syndrome [7.1% [1/14]], and premature ovarian failure [POF] [21.4% [3/14]], and 3] end organ lesions [21.4% [3/14]] which were composed of Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser [MRKH] syndromes [14.3% [2/14]], and M llerian anomaly [7.1% [1/14]]. The causes of secondary amenorrhea were as follows: 1] central lesions [41.7% [60/144]] which were composed of polycystic ovarian syndromes [PCOS] [40.3% [58/144]] and Sheehan`s syndromes [1.4% [2/144]], 2] gonadal lesions [21.5% [33/144]] which were composed of Turner`s syndromes [1.4% [2/144]] and POF [20.8% [31/144]], 3] end organ lesions [20.8% [30/144]] that all were Asherman`s syndromes, and 4] systemic lesions [14.5% [21/144]] which were composed of thyroid diseases [1.4% [2/144]], adrenal diseases [2.1% [3/144]], hyperprolactinemia [11.1% [16/144]].
CONCLUSION
Our data shows that the common causes of primary amenorrhea are Turner`s syndrome, POF and MRKH syndrome, and the common causes of secondary amenorrhea are PCOS, POF and Asherman`s syndrome in Korean women.
