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Objective: Hirsutism, the presence of excess terminal hair in a male pattern, is a clinical marker of androgen excess in women. We used cross-sectional data from a North American preconception cohort study to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle characteristics and hirsutism.Study Design: Women aged 21-45 years were recruited to a North American cohort of pregnancy planners. On the baseline questionnaire, participants self-reported menstrual characteristics, which included menstrual regularity, cycle length, bleed length, and bleed heaviness. Participants provided a self-rating of hirsutism in nine distinct body areas using pictograms representing the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) score. Using their ratings, we calculated total mFG scores and defined hirsutism as mFG scores ≥8. We used log-binomial regression models to estimate prevalence ratios (PRs) for the association between menstrual characteristics and hirsutism assessed at baseline.Results: We included 5,542 women in the analytic cohort. Mean mFG score was 4.7, with 21.7 % reporting mFG scores ≥8. Compared with women with regular menstrual cycles, irregular cycles were positively associated with mFG ≥8 (PR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.56-1.91). Bleed lengths of ≥7 days compared with <3 days also showed a positive association with mFG score ≥8 (PR 1.59, 95 % CI 1.16-2.19), as did heavy bleeds (PR 1.42, 95 % CI 1.21-1.67) compared with moderate bleeds. Findings remained consistent when restricted to women without a prior diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome.Conclusions: In a population-based cohort of North American women, menstrual irregularity, increased cycle and bleeds lengths, and heavier menstrual bleeds were associated with self-reported hirsutism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist that may influence fertility by affecting ovulation, menstrual characteristics, or sperm quality. We studied the association between female and male preconception caffeine intake and fecundability in a North American prospective cohort study of 2135 pregnancy planners. Frequency of caffeinated beverage intake was self-reported at baseline. Outcome data were updated every 8 weeks until reported pregnancy; censoring occurred at 12 months. Adjusted fecundability ratios (FR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using proportional probabilities regression. Total caffeine intake among males, but not females, was associated with fecundability (FR for ≥300 vs. <100 mg/day caffeine among males = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.54–0.96), although the association was not monotonic. With respect to individual beverages, caffeinated tea intake was associated with slight reductions in fecundability among females, and caffeinated soda and energy drink intake were associated with reduced fecundability among males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle characteristics in early life and adulthood and fecundability.Methods: Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO) is an Internet-based preconception cohort study of pregnancy planners from the United States and Canada. During the preconception period, we enrolled 2189 female pregnancy planners aged 21-45 years who had been attempting conception for ≤6 cycles. Women self-reported menstrual cycle characteristics via an online baseline questionnaire, and pregnancy status was ascertained through bimonthly follow-up questionnaires. Proportional probabilities models were used to estimate fecundability ratios (FRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for potential confounders.Results: Compared with usual menstrual cycle lengths of 27-29 days, cycle lengths of <25 (FR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.54-1.22) and 25-26 days (FR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.75-1.14) were associated with reduced fecundability. Compared with women who reached menarche at the age of 12-13 years, those who reached menarche at <12 years had reduced fecundability (FR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-0.99). Women whose cycles never regularized after menarche (FR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.81-1.06) had slightly reduced fecundability compared with women whose cycles regularized within 2 years of menarche. Bleed length and heaviness of bleeding were not appreciably associated with fecundability.Conclusions: Menstrual cycle characteristics, specifically cycle length and age at menarche, may act as markers of fertility potential among pregnancy planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]