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Stress and Menstrual Health

4 de septiembre de 2026 actualizado por: Duke University

The Influence of Non-energetic Stressors on Human Menstrual Function

The goal of this experimental study is to determine how stressors that do not directly impact energy state or energy demands (hereafter called "non-energetic stressors") affect reproductive health in pre-menopausal women. It aims to do this by answering the following main questions: Do non-energetic stressors create a stress response? How does the stress response impact sex hormone concentration and thus menstrual dysfunction? If stress caused by non-energetic stressors does impact sex hormone concentration, does it do so primarily at the level of the brain or the level of the ovary? Participants will be enrolled in this study for 6 months. For two of these months, they will undergo a short stress intervention and provide samples to measure hormone concentration and total energy expenditure.

Descripción general del estudio

Estado

Reclutamiento

Condiciones

Intervención / Tratamiento

Descripción detallada

The Reproductive Suppression Model posits that due to the high cost and failure rate of human reproduction, the female body maximizes lifetime reproductive fitness by suppressing reproduction during poor conditions (where likelihood of offspring survival is low) until conditions are more favorable. The hormonal mechanism for this suppression when calories are scarce and the female body is in low energy availability (LEA) has been studied. However, the mechanism for this suppression in the presence of stressors unrelated to low energy availability, but which could still negatively impact offspring survival, is much less clear. The investigators define such stressors, which do not impact energy state or energetic demands, as "non-energetic stressors." Thus, the aim of this study is to determine if non-energetic stressors drive reproductive suppression in humans. The investigators will assess this by testing the impact of a stress intervention on the stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine, and in turn if the levels of these stress hormones predict the levels of sex hormones associated with the menstrual cycle. Finally, the investigators will assess if changes in stress hormones change total and basal energy expenditure.

Tipo de estudio

Intervencionista

Inscripción (Estimado)

600

Fase

  • No aplica

Contactos y Ubicaciones

Esta sección proporciona los datos de contacto de quienes realizan el estudio e información sobre dónde se lleva a cabo este estudio.

Ubicaciones de estudio

  • Estados Unidos
    • North Carolina
      • Durham, North Carolina, Estados Unidos, 27708
        • Reclutamiento
        • Duke University
        • Contacto:

Criterios de participación

Los investigadores buscan personas que se ajusten a una determinada descripción, denominada criterio de elegibilidad. Algunos ejemplos de estos criterios son el estado de salud general de una persona o tratamientos previos.

Criterio de elegibilidad

Edades elegibles para estudiar

  • Adulto

Acepta Voluntarios Saludables

Sí

Descripción

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult pre-menopausal females, 22-38 years old with a BMI of 18.5-30.0
  • Habitually sedentary (less than 60 minutes MVPA/week) for Exercise cohort

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals on hormonal birth control (oral contraception, injection, implant, or intrauterine device)
  • Individuals with incidence in the last 6 months of childbirth, lactation, pregnancy, or functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA)
  • Individuals with a BMI <18.5 or >30.0
  • Individuals with reproductive disorders (e.g. endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS))
  • Individuals taking thyroid medications
  • Individuals who have undergone or are undergoing menopause
  • MVPA >60 min/week (for Exercise cohort)

Plan de estudios

Esta sección proporciona detalles del plan de estudio, incluido cómo está diseñado el estudio y qué mide el estudio.

¿Cómo está diseñado el estudio?

Detalles de diseño

  • Propósito principal: Tratamiento
  • Asignación: No aleatorizado
  • Modelo Intervencionista: Asignación paralela
  • Enmascaramiento: Ninguno (etiqueta abierta)

Armas e Intervenciones

Grupo de participantes/brazo
Intervención / Tratamiento
Experimental: Heat Stress
Heat stress via 70-80°C sauna exposure for 45-min sessions on 5 consecutive days (days 4-8 or 5-9 of follicular phase).
Otro: Heat stress
Stress-Heat participants will undergo supervised 40-min sessions in a 70-80˚C sauna
Experimental: Sleep Stress
Sleep restriction to 4-6 hours/night for 5 consecutive nights (on days 3-8 or 4-9 of follicular phase).
Otro: Sleep stress
Stress-Sleep participants will be asked to sleep for between 4 and 6 hours per night, with compliance monitored via their activity monitors and self-reported sleep diaries. Participants will be requested to maintain normal wake cycles without midday sleep.
Experimental: Exercise Stress
One-hour cycling at 60-75% predicted max HR for 5 consecutive days (days 4-8 or 5-9 of follicular phase).
Otro: Exercise stress
Stress-Exercise participants will come to the Pontzer Lab to complete a one-hour cycling workout on a Lode Corival CPET ergometer/exercise bike at 60-75% predicted maximum heart rate.

¿Qué mide el estudio?

Medidas de resultado primarias

Medida de resultado
Medida Descripción
Periodo de tiempo
Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
BMR (kcal/d) will be estimated via indirect calorimetry. Participants will be asked to come in for a lab visit on a day of their choice within 2-7 days post-ovulation prior to consuming breakfast or any non-water beverage and after having refrained from exercise for 24 hours pre-measurement. Participants will lie on an exam bed in the Pontzer Lab and have a clear plastic hood connected to a COSMED Quark RMR machine placed over their head for approximately 25-30 minutes. This hood will collect exhaled air, which will be measured for CO2 production to estimate BMR.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Sex hormone concentration (estradiol)
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Sex hormone concentration (progesterone)
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)
Periodo de tiempo: Control (Month 3), Intervention (Month 4)
TDEE (kcal) will be measured over a 7-day period during the Baseline and first Intervention month using the doubly-labeled water (DLW) method. DLW is a safe and reliable method for capturing free-living TDEE and has been validated for human studies. The DLW method adds a known amount of stable isotopes, oxygen-18 (18O) and deuterium (2H), to a participant's total body water (TBW) via ingestion and then measures the depletion rate of these isotopes as they are removed from the body via urine and exhalation.
Control (Month 3), Intervention (Month 4)

Medidas de resultado secundarias

Medida de resultado
Medida Descripción
Periodo de tiempo
Stress hormone concentration (norepinephrine)
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Stress hormone concentration (cortisol)
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Stress hormone concentration (salivary alpha-amylase)
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Sex hormone concentration (luteinizing hormone (LH))
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Sex hormone concentration (follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH))
Periodo de tiempo: Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)
Samples will be assayed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the Pontzer Lab.
Baseline (Month 2), Control (Month 3), Intervention (Months 4-5), and Follow-up (Month 6)

Colaboradores e Investigadores

Aquí es donde encontrará personas y organizaciones involucradas en este estudio.

Patrocinador

Duke University

Investigadores

  • Investigador principal: Herman Pontzer, PhD, Duke University Evolutionary Anthropology Department

Fechas de registro del estudio

Estas fechas rastrean el progreso del registro del estudio y los envíos de resultados resumidos a ClinicalTrials.gov. Los registros del estudio y los resultados informados son revisados ​​por la Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina (NLM) para asegurarse de que cumplan con los estándares de control de calidad específicos antes de publicarlos en el sitio web público.

Fechas importantes del estudio

Inicio del estudio (Actual)

28 de mayo de 2026

Finalización primaria (Estimado)

1 de agosto de 2028

Finalización del estudio (Estimado)

1 de agosto de 2029

Fechas de registro del estudio

Enviado por primera vez

29 de abril de 2026

Primero enviado que cumplió con los criterios de control de calidad

29 de abril de 2026

Publicado por primera vez (Actual)

5 de mayo de 2026

Actualizaciones de registros de estudio

Última actualización publicada (Actual)

9 de septiembre de 2026

Última actualización enviada que cumplió con los criterios de control de calidad

4 de septiembre de 2026

Última verificación

1 de abril de 2026

Más información

Términos relacionados con este estudio

Palabras clave

Términos MeSH relevantes adicionales

Otros números de identificación del estudio

  • Pro00119656

Plan de datos de participantes individuales (IPD)

¿Planea compartir datos de participantes individuales (IPD)?

NO

Información sobre medicamentos y dispositivos, documentos del estudio

Estudia un producto farmacéutico regulado por la FDA de EE. UU.

No

Estudia un producto de dispositivo regulado por la FDA de EE. UU.

No

Esta información se obtuvo directamente del sitio web clinicaltrials.gov sin cambios. Si tiene alguna solicitud para cambiar, eliminar o actualizar los detalles de su estudio, comuníquese con register@clinicaltrials.gov. Tan pronto como se implemente un cambio en clinicaltrials.gov, también se actualizará automáticamente en nuestro sitio web. .

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