Correlation Between Female Athlete Screening Tool (FAST) Scores and Biomarkers to Identify Female Athlete Triad Among Collegiate Athletes and to Evaluate the Validity of the Instrument
The purpose of this study was to determine if the Female Athlete Screening Tool (FAST) is a valid indicator of the three physical components of Female Athlete Triad (FAT), malnutrition, amenorrhea, and low bone mineral density, and if administration of the FAST can be used as a time- and cost-effective way to identify FAT. Participants completed the FAST, the Menstrual Status Questionnaire, and had a blood sample drawn. Interpretation of the total FAST score placed participants in one of three conditions: normal, subclinical disordered eating, or clinical eating disorder. The presence of the three biomarkers of FAT was determined by participants’ responses on the Menstrual Status Questionnaire and protein analyses of their blood samples, in which plasma Prealbumin and CTx levels were tested. Results indicated that there were not significant differences between total FAST scores of participants in each of the groups for any of the three biomarkers (i.e., low versus normal Prealbumin levels; amenorrhea versus normal menstruation; high versus normal CTx levels). More research is needed before it can be determined if the FAST is an appropriate diagnostic tool for FAT. An overwhelming majority of the sample (79.5%) received total FAST scores that fell in the subclinical disordered eating or clinical eating disorder ranges, which supports previous findings that female athletes are at a high risk of developing disordered eating habits or eating disorders due to their unique characteristics and lifestyles
