Menstrual cycle characteristics as an indicator of fertility outcomes: evidence from prospective birth cohort study in China

OBJECTIVE: To evidently assess the applicability of regulate menstrual cycle (MC) characteristics in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as an indicator for fertility. METHODS: A community-based prospective cohort study was conducted in China. Between January 2010 and December 2012, women who were willing to conceive within 2 years were enrolled in the study. Other than the MC length pattern, a well-adopted MC characteristic, menstrual blood color and clots were specifically concerned for women enrolled. All participants were followed up in 2 years by trained nurses. Pregnancy rate, fecundability odds ratio (FOR) and risk of miscarriage were assessed as fertility outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 2109 women were effectively included in this cohort for analysis. Results show that women with irregular MC length were less likely to achieve conception (FORirregular = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.45-0.77, P < 0.001). Menstrual blood in bright red color was also associated with decline in likelihood of conception (FOR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.63-0.98, P = 0.04). Women with menstrual blood in light red were at higher risk of miscarriage (OR = 2.39; 95% CI = 0.91-6.28, P = 0.08). No significant impact was found between menstrual blood clots and fertility outcomes (FOR = 1.02, 95% CI = 0.83-1.25, P = 0.88; OR = 1.26 95% CI = 0.77-2.07, P = 0.35). CONCLUSIONS: MC characteristics can be an effective and simple indicator for women's fertility. Increasing the knowledge of MC characteristics for women in reproductive ages would bring great benefits to their preconception health conditions. (C) 2022 JTCM. All rights reserved.