Monitoring of ovulation in the assessment of reproductive hazards in the workplace.

If women are exposed to reproductive hazards in the workplace, some disturbances of ovulation are expected. Assessment of ovulation requires monitoring to distinguish normal and abnormal ovarian cycles. Menstrual interval and basal body temperature charts are inadequate for identifying many abnormal cycles. A late-luteal endometrial biopsy or a single mid-luteal morning progesterone level each appears to be only 80% accurate in distinguishing normal and abnormal cycles. The complete "cycle profile" of daily ovarian ultrasonic scans and daily serum levels of reproductive hormones appears to be a definitive approach to characterizing ovarian cycles, but this demanding regimen would not be applicable to monitoring large populations in the workplace. An ovarian cycle monitoring protocol consisting of daily measurement of salivary or vaginal electrical resistance, mid-cycle urine testing for the luteinizing hormone surge, and daily luteal phase salivary progesterone levels would provide a practical comprehensive corroborative assessment of ovarian cycles in such populations of women. This monitoring of ovarian cycles would aid in the early detection of reproductive hazards and medical conditions that might present as an ovulatory disturbance.

Duke Scholars

Author Claude Lebernian Hughes Jr. Obstetrics and Gynecology