Disorders in the menstrual cycle and fertility of women with Hodgkin's disease]

Sixty two women with Hodgkin's disease were questioned about disorders in their menstrual cycle and fertility. Menstrual cycle disorders were noted by 38 respondents, i.e. over 60%. Amenorrhoea persisted in 24 of these women. These disorders were significantly more frequent in patient over 30 year of age. There were 52 labours in the group of 38 women with menstrual cycle disorders prior to them, and 21 labours in a group of 24 women without any abnormalities. Hodgkin's disease was diagnosed in 6 patients during pregnancy: 2 of them were treated with irradiations on the upper part of the body while 4 remained untreated. After radiotherapy, there were 2 deliveries in women of the group with menstrual cycle disorders, and 9 deliveries in women without such disturbances. Answers to the supplied questionnaire did not provide any information on the congenital abnormalities in neonates.     

Cycling on the fast track: Ovulatory shifts in sexual motivation as a proximate mechanism for regulating life history strategies

In an ancestral world without modern contraception, how did women regulate their fertility? We argue that fertility may be regulated by context-dependent changes in sexual motivation that are specific to the high-fertility phase of the menstrual cycle. Accordingly, we predicted that ovulatory changes in sexual motivation would vary as a function of women's life history strategies, operationalized in terms of exposure to adverse childhood environments (high unpredictability, low SES, and low father quality). We tested this prediction in a sample of 1004 naturally cycling, pair-bonded women recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Data show that women from adverse childhood backgrounds experienced higher in-pair sexual motivation and engaged in more in-pair sexual behavior at high fertility, compared to women from childhood backgrounds with low adversity. Women from low-adversity childhood backgrounds were more likely to exhibit ovulatory decreases in sexual motivation at early stages in their relationships. We found little evidence, however, that childhood environments interact with conception risk to predict women's extra-pair motivation and behavior. Results offer evidence that women may possess evolved psychological and behavioral mechanisms for regulating the timing of reproduction.     

Fertility and race perception predict voter preference for Barack Obama

Research shows that women more positively evaluate targets evincing cues of high male genetic quality as a function of fertility across the menstrual cycle. Recently, a link between fertility and anti-black race bias has also been documented, an effect that is argued to serve a sexual coercion avoidance function. Here we demonstrate that both effects can be operative toward the same male target depending on inter-individual differences in race perception of the target. Across two studies, we found that the intention to vote for Barack Obama in the months preceding the 2008 election increased as a function of conception risk across the menstrual cycle. In the second study, we found that the effect is greatest among women who perceived him as more white than black, whereas the opposite was true among women who perceived him as mostly black. Our findings tie together separate conceptual research threads on positive and negative evaluations of men by women across the menstrual cycle — integrating them to shed light on women's voting preferences.     

Attunement to the fertility status of same-sex rivals: women's testosterone responses to olfactory ovulation cues

Evolutionary theories of mating suggest that changes in fertility across the menstrual cycle play an important role in sexual selection. In line with this framework, the current research examined whether olfactory cues to the fertility of a same-sex rival would prompt hormonal signs of intrasexual competition in women. Women exposed to the scent of another woman close to ovulation subsequently displayed higher levels of testosterone than women exposed to the scent of a woman far from ovulation. Whereas women exposed to the scent of a woman in the mid-luteal phase displayed sizable decreases in testosterone over time, no such decline was observed among women exposed to the scent of a woman near ovulation. Thus, olfactory cues signaling a rival's heightened level of fertility were associated with endocrinological responses in women that could be linked to intrasexual competition.     

Influence of type of mechanical loading, menstrual status, and training season on bone density in young women athletes

Bone mineral density (BMD) variables were compared in 2 groups of women Division I collegiate athletes-gymnasts (GYM) and cross-country runners (CC)-during the preseason and during the competitive season. An osteogenic advantage may exist in women athletes involved in impact loading (gymnastics) over those women in active loading sports like long-distance running. The effects of menstrual status and the time of the training season on BMD also were examined. Dietary intake, menstrual status, BMD, and serum estradiol levels were measured during the preseason and during the competitive season in 26 women athletes (18-22 years of age). GYM had significantly higher BMD (p < 0.05) at all sites for both the pre- and posttests compared to CC. Neither group experienced a significant change (p > 0.05) in BMD between trials for any site; however, CC showed slight decreases at all BMD sites from baseline to the posttest. GYM had a higher prevalence of self-reported menstrual cycle disturbances than CC. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in BMD was found between the eumenorrheic and menstrual dysfunction groups (oligo/amenorrheic). In conclusion, the gymnasts had significantly higher (p < 0.05) BMD than the runners, suggesting BMD is influenced by the type of mechanical loading. Menstrual status did not significantly affect BMD in these women athletes. Cross-country runners were determined to be at greater risk than the gymnasts for low bone mass; thus, it is recommended that these athletes include more high-impact activities in their training regimen to optimize their bone health.     

Hormones, sexuality and fertility in women

The extent to which the sexuality of women shows a predictable menstrual cyclicity varies considerably from woman to woman, though the most common times for peaks of sexual interest are the pre- and post-menstrual weeks, not the middle of the cycle. Evidence is presented suggesting that mood is an important determinant of the post-menstrual peak of sexuality, whereas the pre-menstrual peak may depend on other mechanisms such as a delayed effect of the mid-cycle rise in testosterone.
Generally, the evidence for a relationship between hormones and sexual behaviour is much more variable and inconsistent in women than in men. Various explanations for this difference have been proposed, including a greater genetic variability of hormone-behaviour relationships in women. Evidence, relevant to this hypothesis, of a relationship between frequency of sexual activity and the fertility of the ovarian cycle is reviewed and alternative explanations for the findings are considered.     

Gravidity and parity in postmenopausal American Indian women: the Strong Heart Study

The fertility of a large sample of American Indian women participating in the Strong Heart Study was examined to determine which factors are associated with variation in completed fertility among women in this population. The Strong Heart Study (SHS) is a study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors in American Indians living in Arizona, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas. Data were derived from a baseline examination between 1989 and 1992 of approximately 1,500 men and women, aged 45-74, from each of the 3 SHS centers. A personal interview elicited demographic information, family health history, and information on several life-style variables. A total of 1,955 ever-married, postmenopausal women were considered in these analyses. Women were considered to be postmenopausal if their menstrual cycles had stopped completely for at least 12 months, either because of natural or surgical processes. The average number of pregnancies (gravidity) for all women was 5.9, whereas the mean number of live births (parity) was 5.3. Women living in Arizona (5.6) and the Dakotas (5.8) had higher parity than those in Oklahoma (4.6). Furthermore, there was lower completed fertility in younger women: When American Indian women from all 3 centers were considered together, women born between 1910 and 1919 had a mean parity of 5.3, whereas women born between 1940 and 1949 had a mean parity of 4.0. Although previous research has suggested a relationship between parity and CVD risk factors, no linear associations between CVD risk factors and fertility were indicated in this population. We also examined the relationship of contraception, level of education, and income to fertility. While no significant relationship between contraception and the level of fertility was identified, there was a significant inverse linear relationship of both education and income with fertility. In summary, fertility rates in American Indian women are high, but appear to be decreasing in younger generations. Fertility is higher in those with less education and lower incomes.     

The laws of Taharat HaMishpacha: potential effects on fertility

The laws of Taharat HaMishpacha (Family purity), which regulate coital activity among Orthodox Jews according to menstrual cycle phase in a population that generally does not use contraception, have potentially important effects on fertility. Analysis of these effects based on menstrual cycle and ovulatory phase lengths for women in the childbearing years shows that the majority of cycles are potentially exposed to coital activity during a fertile period and the increased likelihood of coitus following abstinence has a potentially fertility-enhancing effects. Since most Orthodox Jewish women complete the period of tumah (ritual impurity) and attend the mikveh (a ritual water immersion which marks the end of the cycle) on or before day 14 of the postmenstrual phase, only 22% of cycles are potential sources of diminished fertility as a result of restricted coitus. Any delay in the resumption of sexual relations would result in reduced fecundability for a much larger proportion of cycles. For example, if sexual relations are not resumed until day 15, the proportion of cycles wherein coitus is restricted to the postovulatory phase increases from a maximum of 30% to 41%. Observance of the laws do not greatly diminish the overall fertility of the population assuming that 1) the majority of tumah intervals do not extend beyond 14 days, and 2) coital activity is resumed immediately following return from mikveh. For the individual woman with a predominance of short cycles, delays in conception are probable.     

睡眠障碍通过下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴影响女性生育能力的临床研究

摘要 目的：探究睡眠障碍是如何通过下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴影响女性生育能力的。方法：选择2018年10月至2021年10月于我院妇科内分泌科就诊的育龄期女性80例作为研究对象,根据匹兹堡睡眠质量指数量表（PSQI）评估结果,将所有研究对象按照是否存在睡眠障碍分为睡眠障碍组（n=34例）和非睡眠障碍组（n=46例）。对比分析两组PSQI评分,血清性激素水平,月经周期,生育能力,通过Pearson法分析睡眠障碍与女性生育能力的相关性。结果：（1）睡眠障碍组PSQI总分以及睡眠质量、入睡时间、睡眠时间、睡眠效率、睡眠障碍和日间功能障碍各方面得分均显著高于对照组（P<0.05）;（2）睡眠障碍组卵泡刺激素（FSH）、黄体生成素（LH）较非睡眠障碍组升高,而雌二醇（E₂）水平低于非睡眠障碍组（P<0.05）;（3）两组月经周期比较,睡眠障碍组月经紊乱比例显著高于对照组（P<0.05）;（4）两组生育能力比较,睡眠障碍组生育能力显著低于对照组（P<0.05）。（5）睡眠障碍与FSH和LH均存在负相关性,和E₂存在正相关（P<0.05）。结论：睡眠障碍可减弱下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴的驱动,导致卵泡刺激素释放缓慢,延长了月经周期,并导致黄体功能下降,增加了未受孕或者再次异位妊娠的发生率。     

Women's genital sexual arousal to oral versus penetrative heterosexual sex varies with menstrual cycle phase at first exposure

Reproductive-aged women show increased interest in sexual activity during the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle that can motivate sexual behavior and thereby increase the likelihood of conception. We examined whether women demonstrated greater sexual responses (subjective and genital sexual arousal) to penetrative versus oral sexual activities during the fertile versus non-fertile phases of their cycles, and whether women's arousal responses were influenced by the phase during which they were first exposed to these sexual stimuli (e.g., Slob et al., 1991; Wallen and Rupp, 2010). Twenty-two androphilic women completed two identical sexual arousal assessments in which genital responses were measured with a vaginal photoplethysmograph and their feelings of sexual arousal were recorded. Women viewed an array of 90 s films varying by couple type (female–female, male–male, female–male) and sexual activity type (oral or penetrative), during the fertile (follicular) and non-fertile (luteal) phases of their menstrual cycle, with the order of cycle phase at the first testing session counter-balanced. Women tested first in the fertile phase showed significantly greater genital arousal to female–male penetrative versus oral sex in both testing sessions, whereas self-reports of sexual arousal were not affected by cycle phase or testing order. These results contribute to a growing body of research suggesting that fertility status at first exposure to sexual stimuli has a significant effect on subsequent sexual responses to sexual stimuli, and that this effect may differ for subjective versus genital sexual arousal.     

Relation of CuZnSOD activity with renal insufficiency in hypertensive diabetic patients

Diabetes and renal insufficiency are interrelated metabolic disorders closely associated with redox homeostasis disturbances. The aim of this study was to compare the activity of copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) in the erythrocytes of hypertensive diabetic patients with or without renal insufficiency with normal healthy control subjects. In both groups of diabetic patients, blood glucose level and the content of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were higher than in the control group. However, CuZnSOD activity was significantly higher than control only in hypertensive diabetic patients with renal insufficiency. Our results suggest that disturbances in superoxide homeostasis do correlate with long-term complication in diabetes, i.e. diabetic renal insufficiency and hypertension.     

Symmetrical women have higher potential fertility

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is believed to reflect developmental stability and thus may serve as a marker of the biologic quality of individuals. To test the hypothesis that degree of FA is related to a woman's potential fertility, we measured finger length together with levels of estradiol in saliva samples collected daily for an entire menstrual cycle in 171 Polish urban and rural women. We show that women who are more symmetrical, as assessed by the degree of inequality in the fourth-digit length of their right and left hands, have 13% higher average levels of estradiol over the menstrual cycle than less symmetrical women (19.4 and 17.1 pmol/l, respectively; p=.0001). Among urban women, mid-cycle levels of estradiol were 28% higher in the symmetrical group than in the asymmetrical group. Because higher hormone levels in women may lead to a substantial rise in the probability of conception, low FA may therefore be associated with increased fertility.     

Menstrual cycle, pregnancy and oral contraceptive use alter attraction to apparent health in faces

Previous studies demonstrating changes in women's face preferences have emphasized increased attraction to cues to possible indirect benefits (e.g. heritable immunity to infection) that coincides with periods of high fertility (e.g. the late follicular phase of the menstrual cycle). By contrast, here we show that when choosing between composite faces with raised or lowered apparent health, women's preferences for faces that are perceived as healthy are (i) stronger during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle than during the late follicular, fertile phase, (ii) stronger in pregnant women than in non-pregnant women and (iii) stronger in women using oral contraceptives than in women with natural menstrual cycles. Change in preference for male faces was greater for short- than long-term relationships. These findings indicate raised progesterone level is associated with increased attraction to facial cues associated with possible direct benefits (e.g. low risk of infection) and suggest that women's face preferences are influenced by adaptations that compensate for weakened immune system responses during pregnancy and reduce the risk of infection disrupting foetal development.     

Preferences for masculinity in male bodies change across the menstrual cycle

In human females cyclic shifts in preference have been documented for odour and physical and behavioral male traits. Women prefer the smell of dominant males, more masculine male faces and men behaving more dominantly when at peak fertility than at other times in their menstrual cycle. Here we examine variation in preferences for body sexual dimorphism. Across two studies, both between- and within-participant, we show that women prefer greater masculinity in male bodies at times when their fertility is likely highest, in the follicular phase of their cycle. Shifts were seen when rating for a short-term but not when rating for a long-term relationship. In line with studies showing similar effects for facial sexual dimorphism, we also show that women prefer greater masculinity when they think themselves attractive than when they think themselves less attractive. These results indicate that women's preferences for sexual dimorphism in male bodies follow a similar pattern as found for sexual dimorphism and dominance in other domains and such differences in preference may serve a similar function. Cyclic preferences could influence women to select partners when most likely to become pregnant that possess traits that may be most likely to maximize their offspring's quality via attraction to masculinity or serve to help acquire investment via attraction to femininity.     

Enhanced growth hormone responses to growth hormone releasing hormone in male type I diabetic patients.

In a previous paper we have demonstrated that growth hormone (GH) responses to growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) are higher in premenopausal normal women than in age matched healthy men. As in type I diabetes mellitus various disturbances of GH secretion have been reported, the aim of our study was to assess the effect of sex on basal and GHRH stimulated GH secretion in type I diabetes mellitus. In 21 female and 23 male type I diabetic patients and 28 female and 30 male control subjects GH levels were measured before and after stimulation with GHRH (1 microgram/kg body weight i.v.) by radioimmunoassay. GH responses to GHRH were significantly higher in female than in male control subjects (p less than 0.02), whereas the GH levels following GHRH stimulation were similar in female and male type I diabetic patients. GH responses to GHRH were significantly higher in the male type I diabetic patients than in the male control subjects (p less than 0.001); in the female type I diabetic patients and the female control subjects, however, GH responses to GHRH were not statistically different. The absence of an effect of sex on GHRH stimulated GH responses in type I diabetes mellitus provides further evidence of an abnormal GH secretion in this disorder.     

多囊卵巢综合征并发抑郁症的研究现状

多囊卵巢综合征(polycystic ovary syndrome,PCOS)是育龄女性最常见的内分泌疾病之一,表现为生殖和代谢异常。近些年来,越来越多的人群学研究发现,PCOS病人患精神心理疾病,尤其是抑郁症的发生率高于正常人群。本文概述了PCOS并发抑郁症的相关危险因素和可能机制,并简要论述了PCOS的治疗药物对抑郁症作用的最新研究进展。     

What do men want? Re-examining whether men benefit from higher fertility than is optimal for women

Several empirical observations suggest that when women have more autonomy over their reproductive decisions, fertility is lower. Some evolutionary theorists have interpreted this as evidence for sexual conflicts of interest, arguing that higher fertility is more adaptive for men than women. We suggest the assumptions underlying these arguments are problematic: assuming that women suffer higher costs of reproduction than men neglects the (different) costs of reproduction for men; the assumption that men can repartner is often false. We use simple models to illustrate that (i) men or women can prefer longer interbirth intervals (IBIs), (ii) if men can only partner with wives sequentially they may favour shorter IBIs than women, but such a strategy would only be optimal for a few men who can repartner. This suggests that an evolved universal male preference for higher fertility than women prefer is implausible and is unlikely to fully account for the empirical data. This further implies that if women have more reproductive autonomy, populations should grow, not decline. More precise theoretical explanations with clearly stated assumptions, and data that better address both ultimate fitness consequences and proximate psychological motivations, are needed to understand under which conditions sexual conflict over reproductive timing should arise.     

Fibrin Degradation Products in Sera of Women with Normal Menstruation and Menorrhagia

Serum concentrations of fibrin degradation products were found to be higher during menstruation than in the intermenstrual phase. Higher concentrations were present in cases of menorrhagia as compared with healthy women and women with various gynaecological disorders but with normal menstrual function. Higher serum concentrations of fibrin degradation products in cases of menorrhagia may indicate increased local fibrinolytic activity in the uterus.     

The Unique Impact of Menstruation on the Female Voice: Implications for the Evolution of Menstrual Cycle Cues

Research shows that hormonal changes in women across the menstrual cycle affect vocal production. Most work has documented shifts at high fertility times (i.e., ovulation) or during premenstruation. However, hormonal changes at menstruation also affect female physiology and behavior and could affect vocal production. The present studies investigated perceptual differences in voices recorded during menstruation compared with recordings taken at other times of the menstrual cycle. Results show that male raters could reliably identify voices recorded during menstruation with or without the presence of a voice recorded closest to ovulation. In addition, voices recorded at menstruation were identified as being the most unattractive. These findings indicate that voice recordings taken at times of lowest fertility may uniquely impact women’s vocal production and that perceptions of voice based on cycle phase are not specific to the time of heightened fertility. Implications for the evolution of human menstrual cycle cues are discussed.     

Menstrual cycle shifts in attentional bias for courtship language

The current study investigated whether women show an attentional bias toward courtship language during the fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. Thirty heterosexual women (17 naturally cycling, 13 using hormonal contraceptives) completed a dichotic listening task on both a high and low fertility day of their menstrual cycle. Participants were asked to verbally repeat (shadow) an emotionally neutral target passage played in one ear while either a neutral or courtship distracter was played in the other ear. Courtship distracters were flirtatious in content but not overtly sexual. Shadowing errors were coded as a measure of attentional bias toward the distracter. Saliva samples were taken to determine whether levels of estradiol, progesterone and/or testosterone correlated with task performance. As predicted, naturally cycling women made more shadowing errors when listening to a courtship distracter during the fertile phase of their cycle than during the nonfertile phase. This effect was moderated by relationship status, such that fertile, mated women showed an attentional bias for courtship language but fertile single women did not. However, because of small sample sizes in the analysis, this relationship should be viewed as preliminary. Hormonal analysis revealed that higher levels of salivary estradiol predicted greater attentional bias toward courtship language in naturally cycling women. These results suggest that women's attention is drawn to verbal courtship signals when they are fertile, and that this shift is linked to increased estradiol release during the periovulatory phase.