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Effect of daily fiber intake on luteinizing hormone levels in reproductive-aged women

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate whether the association between fiber intake and LH levels is driven by the association between fiber and estradiol, or whether there is an independent association.

Methods

A prospective cohort of 259 premenopausal women were followed for up to 2 menstrual cycles. Estrogen and LH were measured ≤8 times per cycle at visits scheduled using fertility monitors. Diet was assessed ≤4 times per cycle by 24-h recall. Linear mixed models on the log scale of hormones were utilized to evaluate the total effects of fiber intake. Inverse probability weights were utilized to estimate the independent effect of fiber on LH levels.

Results

In unweighted analyses, we observed a significant, inverse association between fiber intake (in 5 g/day increments) and log LH levels (β, −0.051, 95% confidence interval (CI), −0.100, −0.002). No association was observed in the weighted analyses, after estradiol levels were taken into account (β, −0.016, 95% CI, −0.060, 0.027).

Conclusions

The decreased levels of LH associated with high fiber intake were attenuated after taking estradiol levels into account, suggesting that the association between fiber and LH is most likely a consequence of fiber’s impact on estradiol and not due to an independent mechanism.

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Acknowledgments

Funding: The BioCycle study and their researchers were supported by the Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Contributors: The authors thank all the investigators and staff at the University at Buffalo and NICHD for their respective roles in the study, specifically Cuilin Zhang, Kathleen M. Hovey, Brian W. Whitcomb, Penelope P. Howards, Neil J. Perkins, and Edwina Yeung.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 6100 Executive Blvd, 7B03M, Rockville, MD, 20852, USA

    Audrey J. Gaskins, Sunni L. Mumford & Enrique F. Schisterman

  2. Department of Social and Preventative Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA

    Jean Wactawski-Wende

Authors
  1. Audrey J. Gaskins
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  2. Sunni L. Mumford
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  3. Jean Wactawski-Wende
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  4. Enrique F. Schisterman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Enrique F. Schisterman.

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Gaskins, A.J., Mumford, S.L., Wactawski-Wende, J. et al. Effect of daily fiber intake on luteinizing hormone levels in reproductive-aged women. Eur J Nutr 51, 249–253 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-011-0207-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-011-0207-2

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