Temporal Association Between Interracial Couples and Odds of Low Birth Weight Infants: Trends in National Vital Statistics Data from 1971 to 2016.

Our study explores the temporal association between low birth weight (LBW) infants and the increasing population prevalence of interracial relationships. Our hypothesis was that the odds of LBW would decrease as the population prevalence of interracial relationships increased. National Center for Health Statistics Natality data for 1971-2016 was analyzed.

Markers of vitamin D metabolism and premenstrual symptoms in healthy women with regular cycles.

Study Question: Are insufficient 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations, and other markers of vitamin D metabolism, associated with premenstrual symptoms in healthy women with regular menstrual cycles?

Summary Answer: 25(OH)D insufficiency was associated with specific physical premenstrual symptoms, while no associations were observed with psychological symptoms or with other markers of vitamin D metabolism.

What Is Known Already: Prior studies evaluating vitamin D and premenstrual symptoms have yielded mixed results, and it is unknown whether 25(OH)D insufficiency and other markers of vitamin D metabolism are associated with premenstrual symptoms.

Study Design, Size, Duration: We used two cohorts of women with regular menstrual cycles; 1191 women aged 18-40 years in EAGeR (cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort within a randomized trial) and 76 women aged 18-44 years in BioCycle (prospective cohort).

Serum antioxidant vitamin concentrations and oxidative stress markers associated with symptoms and severity of premenstrual syndrome: a prospective cohort study.

Background: It has been suggested that premenstrual syndrome (PMS) may derive from either elevated oxidative stress or reduced antioxidant vitamin levels in the body; however, these relationships have been minimally studied in a large cohort of healthy women. Our objective was to estimate the association between serum concentrations of antioxidant vitamins (A, C, and E) and markers of oxidative stress (F2-isoprostane) with symptoms and severity of PMS.

Methods: The BioCycle study was a prospective cohort study following 259 healthy premenopausal women aged 18-44 years for up to 2 menstrual cycles.

Adiposity is associated with anovulation independent of serum free testosterone: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Obesity, a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m , is linked to infertility, potentially through a greater risk of anovulation due to elevated androgens. Yet, previous studies have not directly assessed the impact of adiposity, or body fat, on anovulation in the absence of clinical infertility.

Objective: To characterise the associations between adiposity and anovulation among women menstruating on a regular basis.

Family history of autoimmune disease in relation to time-to-pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and live birth rate.

Several autoimmune conditions have adverse effects on reproductive outcomes, but the relationship between family history of autoimmune disease in women without these conditions and pregnancy is uncertain. The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between a family history of an autoimmune condition and time-to-pregnancy (TTP), pregnancy loss, and live birth. This was a prospective cohort study from a RCT of 1228 adult women ages 18-40, who were healthy, had no history of infertility, were actively attempting to conceive, and had one or two prior pregnancy losses.

Preconception Leptin and Fecundability, Pregnancy, and Live Birth Among Women With a History of Pregnancy Loss.

Context: With the increase of obesity, it is imperative to understand the neuroendocrine mechanisms, including the neuroendocrine hormone leptin, by which obese or overweight women are at increased risk for subfertility and infertility.

Objective: The objective was to examine associations between preconception serum leptin concentrations, fecundability, pregnancy, and live birth.

Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort among women with prior pregnancy losses.

Associations Between Preconception Plasma Fatty Acids and Pregnancy Outcomes.

Background: Although fatty acids are involved in critical reproductive processes, the relationship between specific fatty acids and fertility is uncertain. We investigated the relationship between preconception plasma fatty acids and pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: We included 1,228 women attempting pregnancy with one to two previous pregnancy losses from the EAGeR trial (2007-2011).

Preconception Plasma Phospholipid Fatty Acids and Fecundability.

Context: Fatty acids (FAs) are important for reproductive processes, including steroidogenesis, though associations with fecundability, as measured by time to pregnancy (TTP), are unclear.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between preconception plasma phospholipid FA (PPFA) levels and time to human chorionic gonadotropin-pregnancy among women with prior pregnancy loss.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Prospective cohort of 1228 women attempting pregnancy (aged 18 to 40 years, with one or two prior pregnancy losses) followed for up to six cycles at four US university medical centers during 2006 to 2012.

Association of preconception serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with livebirth and pregnancy loss: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, although the association between preconception vitamin D concentrations and livebirth is unknown. We aimed to assess the association between preconception vitamin D and pregnancy outcomes among women with proven fecundity.

Methods: We did a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort from the block-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled EAGeR trial.

Pilot study of placental tissue collection, processing, and measurement procedures for large scale assessment of placental inflammation.

Background: Placental dysfunction is related to many pregnancy complications, but collecting placental specimens for investigation in large scale epidemiologic studies is often infeasible. Standard procedures involving immediate collection after birth and snap freezing are often cost prohibitive. We aimed to collect pilot data regarding the feasibility and precision of a simpler approach, the collection of tissue samples following 24 hours of refrigeration of whole placentae at 4°C, as compared to the "gold standard" of snap freezing excised tissue within 40 minutes of delivery for the assessment of inflammatory cytokines.

A prospective study of physical activity and fecundability in women with a history of pregnancy loss.

Study Question: Is physical activity (PA) associated with fecundability in women with a history of prior pregnancy loss?

Summary Answer: Higher fecundability was related to walking among overweight/obese women and to vigorous PA in women overall.

What Is Known Already: PA may influence fecundability through altered endocrine function. Studies evaluating this association have primarily utilized Internet-based recruitment and self-report for pregnancy assessment and have yielded conflicting results.

Vitamin D is associated with bioavailability of androgens in eumenorrheic women with prior pregnancy loss.

Background: Prior studies have reported mixed results regarding relationships between vitamin D, androgens, and sex hormone-binding globulin in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. However, less is known regarding these associations in eumenorrheic, premenopausal women.

Objective: Our objective was to study the relationships between serum vitamin D and androgen biomarkers in eumenorrheic women with a history of pregnancy loss who were attempting pregnancy.

Association of testosterone and antimüllerian hormone with time to pregnancy and pregnancy loss in fecund women attempting pregnancy.

Objective: To examine whether higher T and/or antimüllerian hormone (AMH) was associated with anovulation, time to pregnancy (TTP), or pregnancy loss risk among healthy, fecund women without diagnosed polycystic ovary syndrome.

Design: Prospective cohort study conducted as a secondary analysis from the Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction randomized trial.

Setting: University medical centers.

The Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction (EAGeR) Trial: A Story of Discovery.

Human reproduction is an inefficient process. There are several drivers of complications along the path to and during pregnancy, one of which is inflammation. Treatments to mitigate the deleterious effects of aberrant inflammation with something inexpensive and widely available like aspirin could have dramatic global impact.

Prevalence and Contributors to Low-grade Inflammation in Three U.S. Populations of Reproductive Age Women.

Background: Inflammation, measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), is linked to adverse reproductive outcomes. However, prevalence and predictors of low-grade inflammation are poorly understood among reproductive age women. Therefore, the current aim was to characterize: (i) the prevalence of elevated hsCRP and (ii) whether the association of various demographic, anthropometric, life style, and metabolic characteristics with higher hsCRP varies across populations of reproductive age women with varying risk profiles for adverse reproductive outcomes.

First record of Culex (Culex) coronator in Louisiana, USA.

The 1st confirmed record of Culex coronator for Louisiana was made at Fort Polk, LA, from carbon dioxide-baited light trap and gravid trap collections performed from April to October 2004. In addition to the new record, 17 mosquito species in 5 genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Coquillettidia, Culex, and Psorophora) were collected. Collection-site and species distribution data are included.