Short and long menstrual cycles have been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases. Menstrual cycle length seems to be determined by the underlying hormonal profile—but could cycle length be a reliable indicator of hormone perturbations and disease risk in healthy regularly menstruating women?
Key Points
-
Menstrual cycle lengths provide insights into a woman's hormonal status
-
Cycle length measurement and readily available clinical information could be used to predict a woman's long-term risk of chronic diseases
-
Women could be educated about the associations between cycle length and the risk of chronic disease
-
Changes in cycle lengths might signify an adverse environment or ovarian aging
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Mumford, S. L. et al. The utility of menstrual cycle length as an indicator of cumulative hormonal exposure. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jc.2012-1350.
Messinis, I. E. From menarche to regular menstruation: endocrinological background. Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 1092, 49–56 (2006).
Klein, N. A. et al. Decreased inhibin B secretion is associated with the monotropic FSH rise in older, ovulatory women: a study of serum and follicular fluid levels of dimeric inhibin A and B in spontaneous menstrual cycles. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 81, 2742–2745 (1996).
Weiss, D. J. et al. Hyperinsulinemia is associated with menstrual irregularity and altered serum androgens in Pima Indian women. Metabolism 43, 803–807 (1994).
De Souza, M. J. et al. High prevalence of subtle and severe menstrual disturbances in exercising women: conformation using daily hormone measures. Hum. Reprod. 25, 491–503 (2010).
Terry, K. L., Willett, W. C., Rich-Edwards, J. W., Hunter, D. J. & Michels, K. B. Menstrual cycle characteristics and incidence of premenopausal breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 14, 1509–1513 (2005).
Solomon, C. G. et al. Long or highly irregular menstrual cycles as a marker for risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus. JAMA 286, 2421–2426 (2001).
Solomon, C. G. et al. Menstrual cycle irregularity and risk for future cardiovascular disease. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 87, 2013–2017 (2002).
Parazzini, F., La Vecchia, C., Negri, E. & Gentile, A. Menstrual factors and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 42, 443–448 (1989).
Cooper, G. S. & Sandler, D. P. Long-term effects of reproductive-age menstrual cycle patterns on peri- and postmenopausal fracture risk. Am. J. Epidemiol. 145, 804–809 (1997).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nader, S. Menstrual cycle lengths—what can they tell us?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 8, 704–706 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2012.179
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2012.179
