The Menstrual Cycle as a Vital Sign: Resources and References

Camille Freeman, LDN, RH

Thank you for attending my presentation at the 2021 Conference of the American Herbalists Guild!

I hope you found the presentation helpful. Below, you'll find links to the resources I mentioned, as well as a list of references and a copy of the slides. If you notice that I've forgotten to add something, please let me know! 


xo,

Camille

Recommended resources

References 

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ACOG Committee on Adolescent Health Care. (2006). ACOG Committee Opinion No. 349, November 2006: Menstruation in girls and adolescents: using the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 108(5), 1323–1328. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006250-200611000-00059

Bahamondes, L., & Ali, M. (2015). Recent advances in managing and understanding menstrual disorders. F1000Prime Reports, 7. https://doi.org/10.12703/P7-33

Baker, F. C., & Driver, H. S. (2007). Circadian rhythms, sleep, and the menstrual cycle. Sleep Medicine, 8(6), 613–622. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2006.09.011

Bryant, R. A., Felmingham, K. L., Silove, D., Creamer, M., O’Donnell, M., & McFarlane, A. C. (2011). The association between menstrual cycle and traumatic memories. Journal of Affective Disorders, 131(1–3), 398–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.10.049

Gore, A. C., Chappell, V. A., Fenton, S. E., Flaws, J. A., Nadal, A., Prins, G. S., Toppari, J., & Zoeller, R. T. (2015). EDC-2: The Endocrine Society’s Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals. Endocrine Reviews, 36(6), E1–E150. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2015-1010

Hammer, K. C., Veiga, A., & Mahalingaiah, S. (2020). Environmental toxicant exposure and menstrual cycle length. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity, 27(6), 373–379. https://doi.org/10.1097/MED.0000000000000579

Hawkins, S. M., & Matzuk, M. M. (2008). Menstrual Cycle: Basic Biology. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1135, 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1429.018

Howards, P. P., Terrell, M. L., Jacobson, M. H., Taylor, K. C., Kesner, J. S., Meadows, J. W., Spencer, J. B., Manatunga, A. K., & Marcus, M. (2019). Polybrominated Biphenyl Exposure and Menstrual Cycle Function. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 30(5), 687–694. https://doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0000000000001045

Jacobs, M. B., Boynton-Jarrett, R. D., & Harville, E. W. (2015). Adverse childhood event experiences, fertility difficulties, and menstrual cycle characteristics. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 36(2), 46–57. https://doi.org/10.3109/0167482X.2015.1026892

Joseph, D. N., & Whirledge, S. (2017). Stress and the HPA Axis: Balancing Homeostasis and Fertility. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18102224

Jukic, A. M., Calafat, A. M., McConnaughey, D. R., Longnecker, M. P., Hoppin, J. A., Weinberg, C. R., Wilcox, A. J., & Baird, D. D. (2016). Urinary Concentrations of Phthalate Metabolites and Bisphenol A and Associations with Follicular-Phase Length, Luteal-Phase Length, Fecundability, and Early Pregnancy Loss. Environmental Health Perspectives, 124(3), 321–328. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408164

Lawson, C. C., Whelan, E. A., Lividoti Hibert, E. N., Spiegelman, D., Schernhammer, E. S., & Rich-Edwards, J. W. (2011). Rotating shift work and menstrual cycle characteristics. Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 22(3), 305–312. https://doi.org/10.1097/EDE.0b013e3182130016

Maleki-Saghooni, N., Amirian, M., Sadeghi, R., & Latifnejad Roudsari, R. (2017). Effectiveness of infertility counseling on pregnancy rate in infertile patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Reproductive Biomedicine, 15(7), 391–402.

Nillni, Y. I., Pineles, S. L., Patton, S. C., Rouse, M. H., Sawyer, A. T., & Rasmusson, A. M. (2015). Menstrual cycle effects on psychological symptoms in women with PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21984

Palomba, S., Daolio, J., Romeo, S., Battaglia, F. A., Marci, R., & La Sala, G. B. (2018). Lifestyle and fertility: The influence of stress and quality of life on female fertility. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology : RB&E, 16, 113. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12958-018-0434-y

Park, S., & Chung, C. (2021). Effects of a dietary modification intervention on menstrual pain and urinary BPA levels: A single group clinical trial. BMC Women’s Health, 21, 58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-021-01199-3

Plunk, E. C., & Richards, S. M. (2020). Endocrine-Disrupting Air Pollutants and Their Effects on the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(23), 9191. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21239191

Rahman, S. A., Grant, L. K., Gooley, J. J., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., Czeisler, C. A., & Lockley, S. W. (2019). Endogenous Circadian Regulation of Female Reproductive Hormones. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 104(12), 6049–6059. https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2019-00803

Ravi, M., Stevens, J. S., & Michopoulos, V. (2019). Neuroendocrine pathways underlying risk and resilience to PTSD in women. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, 55, 100790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100790

Saei Ghare Naz, M., Rostami Dovom, M., & Ramezani Tehrani, F. (2020). The Menstrual Disturbances in Endocrine Disorders: A Narrative Review. International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 18(4), e106694. https://doi.org/10.5812/ijem.106694

Sargis, R. M., Heindel, J. J., & Padmanabhan, V. (2019). Interventions to Address Environmental Metabolism-Disrupting Chemicals: Changing the Narrative to Empower Action to Restore Metabolic Health. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2019.00033

Sciarra, F., Franceschini, E., Campolo, F., Gianfrilli, D., Pallotti, F., Paoli, D., Isidori, A. M., & Venneri, M. A. (2020). Disruption of Circadian Rhythms: A Crucial Factor in the Etiology of Infertility. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(11), 3943. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21113943

Seligowski, A. V., Harnett, N. G., Merker, J. B., & Ressler, K. J. (2020). Nervous and Endocrine System Dysfunction in Posttraumatic Stress: An Overview and Consideration of Sex as a Biological Variable. Biological Psychiatry. Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 5(4), 381–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.12.006

Shao, S., Zhao, H., Lu, Z., Lei, X., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Circadian Rhythms Within the Female HPG Axis: From Physiology to Etiology. Endocrinology, 162(8), bqab117. https://doi.org/10.1210/endocr/bqab117

Simionescu, G., Doroftei, B., Maftei, R., Obreja, B.-E., Anton, E., Grab, D., Ilea, C., & Anton, C. (2021). The complex relationship between infertility and psychological distress (Review). Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 21(4), 306. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2021.9737

Stocker, L. J., Macklon, N. S., Cheong, Y. C., & Bewley, S. J. (2014). Influence of shift work on early reproductive outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 124(1), 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000000321

Tarín, J. J., Hamatani, T., & Cano, A. (2010). Acute stress may induce ovulation in women. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology : RB&E, 8, 53. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7827-8-53

Willis, S. K., Hatch, E. E., & Wise, L. A. (2019). Sleep and female reproduction. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 31(4), 222–227. https://doi.org/10.1097/GCO.0000000000000554

Yang, M., Lee, H.-S., Hwang, M.-W., & Jin, M. (2014). Effects of Korean red ginseng (Panax Ginseng Meyer) on bisphenol A exposure and gynecologic complaints: Single blind, randomized clinical trial of efficacy and safety. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 14, 265. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-14-265

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