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Source: Human Reproduction Update
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Margerison-Zilko, Claire E.
Economic Contraction and Birth Outcomes: An Integrative Review
Human Reproduction Update 16,4 (July-August 2010): 445–458.
Also: http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/content/16/4/445.full.pdf+html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Keyword(s): Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Economic Changes/Recession; Economic Well-Being; Job Turnover; Mortality; Stress; Unemployment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: Previous research has demonstrated an association between economic contraction at both the individual and aggregate level, and adverse health outcomes. Proposed mechanisms include increased psychosocial stress and loss of resources. The aim of this review is to assess the quantity, validity and consistency of empirical evidence examining economic contraction and birth outcomes.

Methods: Empirical, English-language articles examining the effects of economic change at either the aggregate or individual level on birthweight, length of gestation, neonatal mortality and the secondary sex ratio were identified using PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge. Studies were organized by level of analysis and birth outcome and evaluated for internal and external validity.

Results: One individual-level study reported a strong association between individual shift to inadequate employment and decreased birthweight. Of seven aggregate-level studies on birthweight, five exhibited moderate to strong validity but reported inconsistent findings. Similarly, findings from five studies (four with moderate to strong validity) examining rates of neonatal mortality reported inconsistent findings. Three of four moderate to strong studies reported a reduced secondary sex ratio following economic contraction.

Conclusions: Associations between economic contraction and birthweight, neonatal mortality and the secondary sex ratio remain speculative. Consensus on methodology is needed to compare findings across studies. Further research on economic contraction and the secondary sex ratio, as well as individual-level birthweight and length of gestation, is warranted.

Bibliography Citation
Margerison-Zilko, Claire E. "Economic Contraction and Birth Outcomes: An Integrative Review." Human Reproduction Update 16,4 (July-August 2010): 445–458. A.
2. Vercellini, Paolo
Bandini, Veronica
Viganò, Paola
DiStefano, Giorgia
Merli, Camilla E. M.
Somigliana, Edgardo
Proposal for Targeted, Neo-Evolutionary-Oriented, Secondary Prevention of Early-Onset Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. Part I: Pathogenic Aspects
Human Reproduction 39,1 (January 2024): 1-17.
Also: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dead229
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Keyword(s): Adaptation/Evolution; Adenomyosis; Endometriosis; Hormonal Interventions; Infertility/Anovulation; Menarche/First Menstruation; Menarche/Menstruation/Period, Early; Menstruation/Menses/Period; Reproductive Diseases

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The potential for repeated ovulation and menstruation is thought to have provided a Darwinian advantage during the Palaeolithic. Reproductive conditions remained relatively stable until the pre-industrial era, characterized by late menarche, very young age at first birth, multiple pregnancies, and prolonged periods of lactational amenorrhoea. For hundreds of thousands of years, menstruators experienced few ovulatory cycles, even though they were genetically adapted to ovulate and menstruate every month. In the post-industrial era, the age at menarche gradually declined, the age at first birth progressively increased, and breastfeeding became optional and often of short duration. This created a mismatch between genetic adaptation and socio-environmental evolution, so that what was initially a probable reproductive advantage subsequently contributed to increased susceptibility to diseases associated with lifetime oestrogen exposure, such as ovarian, endometrial and breast cancer and, hypothetically, also those associated with the number of ovulatory menstruations, such as endometriosis and adenomyosis. The incidence of endometriosis shows a steep and progressive increase around the age of 25 years, but given the consistently reported delay in diagnosis, the actual incidence curve should be shifted to the left, supporting the possibility that the disease has its roots in adolescence. This raises the question of whether, from an evolutionary point of view, anovulation and amenorrhoea should not still be considered the physiological state, especially in the postmenarchal period. However, an increase in the frequency of endometriosis in recent decades has not been demonstrated, although this deserves further epidemiological investigation. In addition, as endometriosis occurs in a minority of individuals exposed to retrograde menstruation, other important pathogenic factors should be scrutinised. Research should be resumed to explore in more detail the transtubal reflux of not only blood, but also endometrial cells, and whether they are systematically present in the peritoneal fluid after menstruation. If repetitive ovulatory menstruation during the early reproductive years is shown to increase the risk of endometriosis and adenomyosis development and progression in susceptible individuals, hormonal interventions could be used as secondary prevention in symptomatic adolescents.
Bibliography Citation
Vercellini, Paolo, Veronica Bandini, Paola Viganò, Giorgia DiStefano, Camilla E. M. Merli and Edgardo Somigliana. "Proposal for Targeted, Neo-Evolutionary-Oriented, Secondary Prevention of Early-Onset Endometriosis and Adenomyosis. Part I: Pathogenic Aspects ." Human Reproduction 39,1 (January 2024): 1-17.