Karen C. Schliep

Evolutionary theory suggests that some animal species may experience shifts in their offspring sex ratio in response to maternal health and environmental conditions, and in some unfavorable conditions, females may be less likely to bear son…

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Prior research has collectively shown that endometriosis is inversely related to women's adiposity. The aim of this study was to assess whether this inverse relationship holds true by disease severity and typology. DESIGN:…

Inflammatory processes are known to drive the pathogenesis of several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer disease, as well as all-cause mortality. Emerging research indicates that women who have a longer reprodu…

BACKGROUND: There is variability between women for days of menstrual bleeding, cycle lengths, follicular phase lengths, and luteal phase lengths, related to age and parity. OBJECTIVE: To describe total cycle length; anovulatory cycles; fol…

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is one of the most difficult clinical problems to treat because of its multifactorial nature. Although CPP is a worldwide problem, with considerable burden on women's overall quality of life (physical, psychologica…

OBJECTIVE: To assess systemic inflammation in relation to fecundability and anovulation. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study among participants in the Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction trial who were assigned to the placebo. S…

Although minerals are linked to several reproductive outcomes, it is unknown whether dietary minerals are associated with ovulatory function. We hypothesised that low intakes of minerals would be associated with an increased risk of anovula…

BACKGROUND: Caffeine, alcohol, smoking and physical activity are known to alter sex steroid synthesis, which may affect hormone-dependent gynaecologic disease risk, such as endometriosis; however, few studies have assessed life style factor…

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if antimüllerian hormone (AMH) is associated with pregnancy loss. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study within a block-randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of low-dose aspirin. SETTING: Not applicable. PAT…

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests potential links between some dietary fatty acids and improved fertility, because specific fatty acids may affect prostaglandin synthesis and steroidogenesis. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this explorato…

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to characterize the patterns of medication intake in healthy, reproductive-age women not using hormonal contraception. METHODS: Two hundered fifty-nine healthy, premenopausal women (18-44 years of age)…

BACKGROUND: Evidence is growing that the equilibrium between reactive oxygen species and antioxidants plays a vital role in women's reproductive health. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate variations in serum antioxidant…

STUDY QUESTION: Is sexual and/or physical abuse history associated with incident endometriosis diagnosis or other gynecologic disorders among premenopausal women undergoing diagnostic and/or therapeutic laparoscopy or laparotomy regardless …

BACKGROUND: To examine transient environmental exposures and their relationship with human fecundity, exposure assessment should occur optimally at the time of conception in both members of the couple. We performed an observational, prospec…

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a gynecologic disease reported to be associated with infertility and, possibly, adverse pregnancy outcomes. While considerable research focuses on pregnancy outcomes following diagnosis and/or treatment, few dat…

STUDY QUESTION: Are prospectively assessed dietary factors, including overall diet quality, macronutrients and micronutrients, associated with luteal phase deficiency (LPD) in healthy reproductive aged women with regular menstrual cycles? …

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of both male and female body mass index (BMI), individually and combined, on IVF outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: University fertility center. PATIENT(S): All couples undergoing first …

STUDY QUESTION: Does use of commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication affect reproductive hormones and ovulatory function in premenopausal women? SUMMARY ANSWER: Few associations were found between analgesic medication use and r…

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate whether anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is associated with fecundability among women with proven fecundity and a history of pregnancy loss. DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort study with…

STUDY QUESTION: What are the pain characteristics among women, with no prior endometriosis diagnosis, undergoing laparoscopy or laparotomy regardless of clinical indication? SUMMARY ANSWER: Women with surgically visualized endometriosis re…

CONTEXT: Although adequate luteal hormone production is essential for establishing pregnancy, luteal phase deficiency (LPD) is poorly characterized among eumenorrheic women. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the prevalence and overlap of two establis…

BACKGROUND: Caffeinated beverages are widely consumed among women of reproductive age, but their association with reproductive hormones, and whether race modifies any such associations, is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the re…

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the interrater and intrarater reliability of endometriosis diagnosis and severity of disease among gynecologic surgeons viewing operative digital images. METHODS: The study population comprised a random sample (n=148…