Donna D. Baird

BACKGROUND: While there is evidence that vitamin D deficiency is associated with long menstrual cycles, delayed ovulation, and reduced fertility, it is yet unknown if increasing vitamin D levels can regulate menstrual cycles, and thus possi…

BACKGROUND: Use of chemical hair straighteners ("relaxers") is associated with higher risks of hormonally mediated conditions. We hypothesized users of relaxers would have a higher prevalence of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) and dysmenorr…

BACKGROUND: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common endocrine disorder, characterized by oligomenorrhea and androgen excess. Only a few studies have addressed the natural history of menstrual cycles among women with polycystic ovary syndrome …

BACKGROUND: Using menstrual products is a part of managing menstrual bleeding. Product use may represent individual, social, and economic influences. A few studies on menstrual product use from specific regions in the United States reported…

OBJECTIVE: Fibroids are hormonally dependent uterine tumors. The literature on adiposity and fibroid prevalence is inconsistent. Previous work usually combined all those with a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2 into a single category and reli…

Published associations between combined oral contraceptive use and uterine fibroid development have lacked prospective imaging with ultrasound to distinguish between incident and prevalent fibroids. The Study of Environment, Lifestyle, and …

BACKGROUND: Use of menstrual tracking data to understand abnormal bleeding patterns has been limited because of lack of incorporation of key demographic and health characteristics and confirmation of menstrual tracking accuracy. OBJECTIVE:…

RESEARCH QUESTION: Are gravidity, parity and breastfeeding history associated with anti-Müllerian hormone concentration among African-American women of reproductive age? DESIGN: This study included baseline data from the Study of the Envir…

BACKGROUND: Metals may influence reproductive health, but few studies have investigated correlates of metal body burden among reproductive-aged women outside of pregnancy. Furthermore, while there is evidence of racial disparities in exposu…

BACKGROUND: Uterine fibroids are highly prevalent, benign tumors. They are the leading indication for hysterectomy, and Black women are disproportionally burdened. Soy-based infant formula contains phytoestrogens, and exposure during sensit…

Some studies indicate that Black women have higher exposure to multiple non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) than white women, but little is known about correlates of exposure to EDC mixtures. Using baseline data from a pros…

BACKGROUND: Prospective longitudinal cohorts assessing women's health and gynecologic conditions have historically been limited. OBJECTIVE: The Apple Women's Health Study was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship amon…

BACKGROUND: Mobile applications (apps) present a new opportunity to study menstrual cycles and time to pregnancy. Understanding the characteristics of cycle tracking app users is important to evaluate the feasibility of recruiting participa…

OBJECTIVE: Fibroid treatments that have few side-effects and can preserve fertility are a clinical priority. We studied the association between serum vitamin D and uterine fibroid growth, incidence, and loss. DESIGN: A prospective communit…

BACKGROUND: Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are widely present in consumer products. In the United States, Black women are more highly exposed to phthalates than other racial/ethnic groups, yet information on predictors o…

Scientists from multiple basic disciplines and an international group of physician-scientists from the field of obstetrics and gynecology presented recent studies and discussed new and evolving theories of uterine fibroid etiology, growth a…

BACKGROUND: Injectable contraceptive use is common, with 74 million users worldwide. Use of the injectable contraceptive depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is associated with bone mineral density loss. We hypothesize that increased bo…

OBJECTIVES: To characterize reasons for hormonal contraceptive (HC) use in 1,455 African-American women, aged 23-35 years. STUDY DESIGN: The community-based cohort members were recruited from the Detroit, Michigan area in 2010-2012. HC his…

STUDY QUESTION: Is pre-conception 25(OH)D associated with the per cycle probability of conception, i.e fecundability, in a prospective cohort study? SUMMARY ANSWER: There are suggestive associations of high 25(OH)D (at least 50 ng/ml) with…

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the associations between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and biomarkers of ovarian reserve in a large community-based sample of women. METHODS: In 2010 to 2016, women aged 30 to 44 years without…

IMPORTANCE: Despite lack of evidence of their utility, biomarkers of ovarian reserve are being promoted as potential markers of reproductive potential. OBJECTIVE: To determine the associations between biomarkers of ovarian reserve and repr…

We sought to determine the relationship of fibroids to pregnancy loss in a prospective cohort in which fibroid status was uniformly documented in early pregnancy. Participants had an intake interview, transvaginal ultrasonography, computer-…

ObjectiveTo characterize normative antimüllerian hormone (AMH) levels and ascertain which factors are associated with AMH in a large cohort of reproductive-age women.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingNot applicable.Patient(s)A total of 1,6…

BACKGROUND: Phytoestrogen exposure from soy formula feeding during infancy may disrupt reproductive system development, resulting in altered menstrual bleeding in adulthood. METHODS: We investigated this relationship in a cohort of 1,696 y…

STUDY QUESTION: How well can a single baseline ultrasound assessment of fibroid burden (presence or absence of fibroids and size of largest, if present) predict future probability of having a major uterine procedure? SUMMARY ANSWER: During…