Health Tip: If You've Missed Your Period

(HealthDay News) -- When a woman misses her period, her first instinct may be to assume that she''s pregnant. While lack of a menstrual cycle can indicate pregnancy, there are other reasons that could cause your cycle to stop.

Here are some conditions that may affect a woman''s menstrual cycle, courtesy of the Saint Francis Health Care System:

• Extreme weight loss or exceptionally strenuous exercise.
• Obesity.
• Stress or anxiety.
• Menopause.
• Health conditions that affect the thyroid or pituitary gland.
• Some medications.

-- Diana Kohnle

Last Updated: Oct. 17, 2006

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