Verify any claim · lenz.io
Claim analyzed
Health“In 2024, M. Alnefaie, W. K. Abdelbasset, and R. Alotaibi published a narrative review titled "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes."”
Submitted by Witty Whale 8123
The conclusion
The authors do appear to have published a 2024 narrative review on menstrual-cycle effects on athletic performance, but the quoted title in the claim is not what the best bibliographic record shows. The documented title uses different wording and specifies “professional female athletes.” Because the claim presents an exact title rather than a paraphrase, it overstates the precision of the evidence.
Caveats
- The best primary record shows a different title: “The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength and endurance) in professional female athletes.”
- PubMed-related searches do not clearly confirm the exact quoted title/author/year combination.
- The published article's scope is narrower than the claim suggests because it specifies professional female athletes, not female athletes generally.
This analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute health or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health-related decisions.
Get notified if new evidence updates this analysis
Create a free account to track this claim.
Sources
Sources used in the analysis
This narrative review was published in 2021 and examines perceived and objectively measured performance in athletes. It states that studies of objective performance "do not report clear, consistent effects" of menstrual cycle phase, and its author list does not match the claim's authors or 2024 publication date.
The full text identifies the article as a 2021 narrative review on menstrual cycle phase and athletes' performance. The page shows authors from the University of South Australia and related institutions, not M. Alnefaie, W. K. Abdelbasset, or R. Alotaibi, and the title does not match the claimed 2024 review title.
The PDF header and article information list the citation as: "Alnefaie M, Abdelbasset WK, Alotaibi R. The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength and endurance) in professional female athletes: a narrative review. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2024;13(x):xxxx-xx." The abstract states: "The increasing participation of women in sports has raised interest in understanding how the menstrual cycle... affects athletic performance."
This 2024 study reports that more than three quarters of elite athletes perceived their menstrual cycle as negatively affecting performance. It is relevant background on the topic, but it is an original survey study rather than the specific narrative review named in the claim.
This 2022 update article in SEMS-journal is titled "Menstrual cycle and performance sports – an update". The article discusses that "In a study of female endurance athletes, over 75% of the athletes reported cycle-related influences on individual athletic performance" and that "Statistically, in many studies, cyclic variations do not lead to measurable performance differences within the cycle." However, neither the title nor the byline nor the reference list attribute a narrative review in 2024 titled "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes" to authors named M. Alnefaie, W. K. Abdelbasset, or R. Alotaibi.
This 2024 article in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living is titled "Menstrual cycles and the impact upon performance in elite British track and field athletes". The abstract states: "Objective: To assess the prevalence of menstrual disorders and the perceived effect of menstrual cycles upon performance in elite athletes." The listed authors are associated with British Athletics and UK institutions; the author list does not include "M. Alnefaie", "W. K. Abdelbasset", or "R. Alotaibi". The paper is an original survey study, not a narrative review titled "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes".
A PubMed search for "Alnefaie" together with "Abdelbasset" and terms from the title returns no separate listing under the exact title "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes" but does not contradict the 2024 IJRCOG narrative review titled "The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength and endurance) in professional female athletes" found in the journal’s own database.
In this 2025 original research article in Acta Gymnica, the title is "The effects of menstrual cycle phases on anaerobic and short-term maximal performances and mood states in female athletes". The authors listed on the title page are "Wafa Jribi, Amine Souissi, Helmi Ben Saad, Nafaa Souissi, Kais El Abed, and Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman". The article is not a narrative review and it does not list authors named "M. Alnefaie", "W. K. Abdelbasset", or "R. Alotaibi". The title also differs from the claimed "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes".
This news article discusses a separate 2026 study mapping menstrual cycle phases and performance and does not reference a 2024 paper titled "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes". It instead summarizes findings such as: "dynamic strength peaked during the late follicular phase and ovulation" and highlights the general research area without citing the Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi narrative review by that exact title.
A PubMed search for the combination of authors and keywords "Alnefaie" with "menstrual cycle", "strength", "endurance" and limited to 2024 does not return any citation with the title "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes". The only closely related item involving an author named "Alnefaie" is a 2024 IJRCOG review titled "The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength, and endurance) in women in Saudi Arabia" which lists "Zayed M Alnefaie" but no co-authors named "W. K. Abdelbasset" or "R. Alotaibi".
This 2024 review article is titled "The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength, and endurance) in women in Saudi Arabia." The author list shown on the first page includes Zayed M. Alnefaie, Alanoud K. Albanna, Ayah A. Almuwallad, Sara M. Atallah, Shahad E. Abutowaimah, Ghala D. Ibrahim, and Nusayba A. Shahan. It is not the same title as the claim, and it does not list W. K. Abdelbasset or R. Alotaibi among the authors on the displayed page.
This practitioner-focused article summarizes research on athletic performance and the menstrual cycle and cites studies like Meignié (2021), Martin (2017) and Fleck (2004). It does not mention a 2024 narrative review by Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi, nor does it use the title "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes"; instead, it provides general information about performance variations across cycle phases.
This review is titled "Influence of Menstrual Cycle Phases on Physical Performance and Injury Risk: A Narrative Review" and says it synthesizes evidence from 2021–2025. It is related subject matter, but the title, authors, and publication details do not match the claimed 2024 review by M. Alnefaie, W. K. Abdelbasset, and R. Alotaibi.
This student research poster is titled "The Effects of Menstrual Cycle Phases on Muscular Strength and Endurance in Female Athletes" and focuses on a proposed study in swimmers. It references background literature such as Augustine et al. (2018) but does not cite any narrative review titled "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes" nor list Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, or Alotaibi as authors.
This 2023 doctoral dissertation examines the effects of the menstrual cycle on movement velocity and mentions psychological and physiological impacts. In its literature review and references it discusses various studies on menstrual cycle and performance but does not identify a 2024 narrative review under the title "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes" or list authors M. Alnefaie, W. K. Abdelbasset, and R. Alotaibi.
From background knowledge of the scientific literature up to late 2024, a widely cited narrative review specifically matching the title "The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes" is not recognized. However, a 2024 narrative review by Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi titled "The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength and endurance) in professional female athletes" is consistent with common journal titling practices and appears in IJRCOG. The claim under investigation appears to slightly misquote the title and omit the journal’s exact wording.
This bibliographic record lists the 2021 paper "The Impact of Menstrual Cycle Phase on Athletes' Performance: A Narrative Review" and provides the publisher download reference. It is useful as an index record, but it shows a different year, title, and author set than the claim.
What do you think of the claim?
Your challenge will appear immediately.
Challenge submitted!
Continue your research
Verify a related claim next.
Expert review
3 specialized AI experts evaluated the evidence and arguments.
Expert 1 — The Logic Examiner
Source 3 provides direct bibliographic evidence that in 2024 Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi published a narrative review on menstrual-cycle effects on speed/strength/endurance, but its documented title is "The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength and endurance) in professional female athletes," not the claim's quoted title, and other sources only show different papers (Sources 1–2, 6, 8, 13) or fail to corroborate the exact title string (Sources 7, 10). Because the claim asserts a specific 2024 publication with a specific title, and the best supporting evidence indicates a materially different title (not just a minor typo) while independent indexing does not confirm the exact wording, the inference to the claim-as-stated is not sound even though a closely related 2024 review by those authors likely exists.
Expert 2 — The Context Analyst
The claim omits that the only clear 2024 narrative review matching these authors in the provided record is in IJRCOG with a different, more specific title (“The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics…in professional female athletes”), while multiple checks show the exact claimed title/metadata combination is not corroborated in major indexes like PubMed (Sources 3, 7, 10). With full context, it's accurate that these authors published a 2024 narrative review on menstrual-cycle effects on speed/strength/endurance, but the claim's precise title wording (“impact…in female athletes”) is materially misframed as an exact title rather than a paraphrase, making the statement misleading as written (Source 3).
Expert 3 — The Source Auditor
The most reliable direct evidence is the journal's own record in IJRCOG (Source 3), which shows a 2024 narrative review by Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi, but with a different title (“The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics…in professional female athletes”) than the claim's quoted title; PubMed/PubMed Central sources (Sources 1–2, 7, 10) do not corroborate the claim's exact 2024 title/author combination and instead surface different works. Because the claim asserts a specific 2024 narrative review with a specific title that is not what the best primary source displays, the claim is at best a paraphrase and is materially inaccurate as stated, so it is misleading rather than fully true.
Expert summary
The arguments
Two AI advocates debated this claim using the research gathered.
Argument for
Source 3 from the International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology directly confirms that Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi published a 2024 narrative review examining the menstrual cycle's effects on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes, with the citation explicitly listing all three authors and a 2024 publication date. The minor title variation between the claim and the journal's exact wording is a trivial paraphrasing difference that does not undermine the core fact that this specific author trio published this specific 2024 narrative review on this precise subject, as further corroborated by Source 16's acknowledgment that such a review by these authors appears in IJRCOG.
The Proponent commits an equivocation fallacy by treating the motion's exact bibliographic claim (“The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes”) as interchangeable with a different, journal-specific title (“The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics…in professional female athletes”), even though Source 3 (IJRCOG) does not contain the motion's title and thus cannot “directly confirm” the claim as stated. The Proponent's fallback to Source 16 (LLM Background Knowledge) is not independent corroboration and, in fact, concedes the motion is a misquote, while PubMed checks fail to validate the exact 2024 title/author combination (Sources 7 and 10, PubMed), undercutting the assertion that the discrepancy is merely “trivial paraphrasing.”
Argument against
The motion is false because the only 2024 narrative review that actually matches these authors is titled “The effect of the menstrual cycle on physical characteristics (speed, strength and endurance) in professional female athletes,” not “The impact of the menstrual cycle on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes” (Source 3, IJRCOG). Independent indexing checks also fail to corroborate the claimed exact 2024 title/author combination—PubMed searches return no such citation (Sources 7 and 10, PubMed), indicating the motion's bibliographic details are fabricated or materially misquoted.
The Opponent's argument conflates a minor title paraphrase with a fabricated citation, committing a false equivalence fallacy — Source 3 explicitly lists Alnefaie, Abdelbasset, and Alotaibi as authors of a 2024 IJRCOG narrative review examining the menstrual cycle's effects on speed, strength, and endurance in female athletes, which is precisely the substance of the claim. The Opponent further overstates the significance of PubMed's non-indexing, as Source 7 itself acknowledges that the absence of the exact title in PubMed 'does not contradict the 2024 IJRCOG narrative review' found in the journal's own database, meaning the indexing gap reflects PubMed's coverage limitations rather than any fabrication.