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OD Research - Reproductive Epidemiology
Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE Study)
The Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study is designed to examine the relation between ubiquitous environmental chemicals, lifestyle, and human fecundity and fertility. The primary exposures of interest include persistent chemicals (e.g., PCBs, PBDEs and PFOS) and lifestyle factors (e.g., stress, cigarette smoking, caffeine, and alcohol usage). The LIFE Study comprises 501 couples recruited prior to conception who were followed daily while attempting to become pregnant for up to 12 months of trying. Pregnant women were followed monthly until delivery. The primary study outcomes include couple fecundability as measured by time-to-pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and infertility. Pregnancy outcomes include length of gestation, birth size and the secondary sex ratio. Data analysis is currently underway.
Principal investigator
Germaine Louis, Ph.D., M.S.
DESPR Collaborators
Selected Publications
- Buck Louis GM, Schisterman EF, Sweeney AM, Wilcosky TC, Gore-Langton R, Lynch CD, Barr DD, Schrader SM, Kim S, Chen Z, Sundaram R. Designing prospective cohort studies for assessing reproductive and developmental toxicity during sensitive windows of human reproduction and development — the LIFE Study. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 2011; 25:413-424. PMID: 21819423
- Sundaram R, McLain A, Buck Louis GM. A survival analysis approach to modeling human fecundity. Biostatistics 2012; 13(1): 4-17. PMID: 21697247
- Buck Louis GM, Sundaram R, Schisterman EF, Sweeney AM, Lynch CD, Gore-Langton RE, Chen Z, Kim S, Caldwell K, Boyd Barr D. Heavy metals and couple fecundity, the LIFE Study. Chemosphere 2012; 87:1201-1207. PMID: 22309709