Pilot test and validation of the Peak Day method of prospective determination of ovulation against a handheld urine hormone monitor

BMC Women's Health

Research Article

Karen C Schliep¹  Joseph B Stanford²  Kyley J Cox²  Christina A Porucznik² 

[1] Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA;Division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;

关键词: Environmental exposure;    Epidemiology;    Ovulation;    Fertilization;    Validation studies;    Luteinizing hormone;    Biomonitoring;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6874-14-4

 received in 2013-07-25, accepted in 2013-12-28,  发布年份 2014

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTransient exposures may influence fertility and early embryonic development. To assess the time of conception in vivo and conduct concurrent biomonitoring, ovulation must be identified prospectively. We report on the development and validation of a simple, prospective method, the Peak Day method, to determine likely day of ovulation based upon daily observations of cervical fluid.MethodsWe recruited 98 women to learn the Peak Day method from a brochure, 26 of whom concurrently used the method with blinded daily urine hormone monitoring (estrone glucuronide and luteinizing hormone). All women were instructed to complete an exposure questionnaire immediately upon identifying ovulation. Briefly, the exposure questionnaire captured time-varying and transient exposures such as medication use, water consumption, and amount of sleep. We assessed timely completion of the exposure questionnaire, agreement of women’s estimated day of ovulation (EDO) and the EDO by expert review, and agreement between the EDO by expert review and by blinded urine monitoring.ResultsOf 147 cycles evaluated, women selected an EDO in 130 (88%) and subsequently completed the periovulatory exposure questionnaire in 122 (94%) cycles. Of the 26 cycles evaluated with blinded hormonal monitoring, the Peak Day “best quality” algorithm, based upon cervical fluid, identified ovulation ± 3 days of the urine monitor in 24 cycles (92%).ConclusionsWith simple written instructions, women can identify an estimated day of ovulation and perform periovulatory exposure assessment. The Peak Day method is highly cost-effective and could be applied by researchers to target periconceptional or very early developmental stage exposure assessment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Porucznik et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014