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Evidence of Air Pollution Effects on Menstrual Cycle Health Using Multi-Country Data from a Mobile Health App

16 Pages Posted: 29 Mar 2024

See all articles by Priyanka deSouza

Priyanka deSouza

University of Colorado Denver

Amanda Shea

Biowink GmbH

Virginia Vizthum

Biowink GmbH

Fábio Duarte

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Claire Gorman

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Meghan Timmons

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Patricia Huguelet

University of Colorado

Mary Sammel

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Carlo Ratti

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Danielle Braun

Harvard University - Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

Rachel Nethery

Harvard University - Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

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Abstract

Background: Toxicological evidence suggests that the endocrine-disrupting properties of ambient air pollution can impact menstrual cycle functioning, an important marker of women’s health. This is the first study to evaluate the impact of short- and long-term PM2.5 exposures on menstrual cycle outcomes across the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. 

Methods: We leveraged de-identified self-tracked data of 2,220,281 menstrual cycles between 2016-2020 corresponding to 92,550 users from a popular mobile health-tracking app. Regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between long-term PM2.5, averaged between 2016-2020, and city-level outcomes (% of cycles in each city of abnormal lengths, and % of users in each city with abnormal age-specific cycle variation) after controlling for potential confounders. Conditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between cycle-specific PM2.5 and if a cycle was of abnormal length within an individual in the dataset, after controlling for time-varying factors.  

Findings: Significant associations were observed between long-term PM2.5 and the % of cycles with abnormal length: OR: 1.023 (95% CI: 1.013, 1.033) and with the % of users with abnormal cycle variation: OR: 1.165 (95% CI: 1.103, 1.231) for every 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. Associations between short-term PM2.5 concentrations and abnormal cycle length were not significant. Our findings were robust to several sensitivity analyses. 

Interpretation: Our work suggests that PM2.5 exposure impacts menstrual cycle outcomes. More work is needed to better elucidate the biological mechanisms through which it impacts menstrual cycle health. 

Funding: None.

Declaration of Interest: AS and VV work for Biowink which provided the data used in this study.

Ethical Approval: The CLUE data are not collected specifically for this study and no one on the study team has access to identifiers linked to the data. These activities do not meet the regulatory definition of human subjects research. This study received an exemption from CU Denver’s IRB.

Keywords: menstrual health, women's health, mHealth, air pollution, multi-country

Suggested Citation

deSouza, Priyanka and Shea, Amanda and Vizthum, Virginia and Duarte, Fábio and Gorman, Claire and Timmons, Meghan and Huguelet, Patricia and Sammel, Mary and Ratti, Carlo and Braun, Danielle and Nethery, Rachel, Evidence of Air Pollution Effects on Menstrual Cycle Health Using Multi-Country Data from a Mobile Health App. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4774407 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4774407

Priyanka DeSouza (Contact Author)

University of Colorado Denver ( email )

Amanda Shea

Biowink GmbH ( email )

Virginia Vizthum

Biowink GmbH ( email )

Fábio Duarte

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ( email )

77 Massachusetts Avenue
50 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
United States

Claire Gorman

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ( email )

Meghan Timmons

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ( email )

Patricia Huguelet

University of Colorado ( email )

Mary Sammel

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus ( email )

Carlo Ratti

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ( email )

77 Massachusetts Avenue
50 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
United States

Danielle Braun

Harvard University - Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health ( email )

Rachel Nethery

Harvard University - Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health ( email )

Bostone, MA 02115
United States