Magnetic resonance imaging of body fat of athletes compared with controls, and the oxidative metabolism of estradiol

The extent of 2-hydroxylation of estradiol (E2), which yields a non-estrogenic metabolite (2-OHE1), increased significantly with decreasing subcutaneous fat (ScF)/total volume percent (TV%) and total fat (TF)/TV% evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for five athletes during low- and high-intensity training, and four controls. The increase in 2-hydroxylation with decreasing adiposity was associated with anovulation and amenorrhea among the athletes.